And Then You Die...
by Chibi Megami
Summary: 1x2 -- Duo is a photo-journalist who seems to cross horrors where ever he goes. What Duo has witnessed is only the beginning of the horrors that could kill us all. Now he has no choice but to stop it - Or die trying...
1. Prologue

And Then You Die…

Disclaimer:I own nothing.*sigh*

Note:This is what I guess you'd call an adaptation to this one book I read. . No I'm not going to tell you what book, you'd end up going and getting it from the library and spoil EVERYTHING. *pooooooooooooooooouts* And that wouldn't be any fun. But if you HAVE read this book…. Just know I DID this this way for a reason. Its just too bad I lost *MY* copy of the book. *sigh* A chapter or two might be added in the next couple of hours depending on my progress. And least Chapter One will get up. You'll notice throughout this and other parts that I'll use some Episode Zero stuff. Never really wrote a fic like this so be kind. ^_^;;; Also know there are GW and EW characters throughout and non-GW characters, don't beat me too hard, onegai? 

**Prologue**

** **

**September 19**

**L2 Orphanage**

** **

The dogs were howling.

Lords I wished they'd stop.

_Focus. Shoot. Move on._

The light's dark here… gotta adjust it.

All the orphans… gods why? Nevermind… just take the picture.

_Focus. Shoot. Move on._

My hands shook as I opened the camera, taking out the old roll and inserted a new one.

"We need to be leaving now Mr. Maxwell." The Sergeant was standing in the doorway behind me. Revulsion dripped from every one of his seemingly polite words as he stared at me. "They're just outside the village, we shouldn't be here."

_Focus. Shoot._

"We have to go."

Another room. The camera was knocked from my hands he now stood over me with a haunted expression. "What are you a ghoul? How can you be doing this?" I couldn't do it anymore. I was dying inside.

No. I had to do it. I bent down to pick up the fallen camera. "Wait for me outside… I'll only be a minute." I barely heard his muttered curse as he turned on his heel and left me alone.

No, not alone…

The orphans…

_Focus. Shoot._

I could get through this! No, I couldn't. I leaned up against the wall, closing my eyes trying to block the images from my head.

And the dogs continued to howl. I couldn't shut them out. 

I was convinced then that the world was full of monsters.

I open my eyes and start toward the last room. I'd just have to show them the monsters. I willed myself not to think or listen to the dogs.

_Just Focus. Shoot. And move on._


	2. Chapter 1

And Then You Die…

** **

Chapter 1

** **

**January 21**

**4:50 p.m.**

**Mexico**

** **

I might just murder him.

"See? I told you so. Everything is working out just fine." Quatre beamed.

'I hate it when you say '_I told you so'_ and could you for once stop being so damn cheerful?" I bite out, bracing against each rough bump of the road.

Quatre stuck his tongue out at me. "No, I'm happy and you will be too once you get over the fact that I was entirely right for making you take me with you. Now stop your complaining, we still have six or so hours to go and they say the road will get a bit rough." Another jagged bump.

"Oh… like this isn't rough?" I say dryly. He doesn't seem to catch on to my sarcasm for he immediately shakes his head. "The people said they take good care of this road. They don't touch the roads going into Tenajo because they don't think there's enough people for it to matter anyway."

"Well, if there's so little people what was the point in them giving me this assignment? There's probably nothing there."

"I'll find bunches of things for you!" Quatre chirped. "I'm sure it has a lovely church… and every Mexican town has a plaza!"

"What? So you're directing my shoots for me now?"

"I just approve of this one Duo. I don't see what thrill you get from crazy-idiots shooting at you! You ended up in the hospital after your shoot in L2. You should have gone into business with me." A slight frown creased his fine features.

"Quatre I enjoy my work. And I could never be cut out for business. I realized that the day I lost all the spread -sheets and messed up the balances for your one company. I don't know how you stayed so organized or can stand to stay cooped up in an office all day like that."

"And what about L2? When are you going to tell me what happened at L2?"

I stiffen at the mention of the colony. "Stay out of my job Quatre. I'm almost twenty... I don't need your supervision." I fidgeted. "Shouldn't we set up camp soon? And maybe you'd want to call Trowa. We'll probably be outta range soon." I prayed the distraction and change of subject would get his mind off the topic.

It worked.

"That's a great idea! It'll probably be my last chance before he goes off to visit Catherine while I'm gone!" He pulled out his cellular and dialed, placing the device by his ear. He listened intently for a moment before letting out a pout. "Duo, why couldn't you bring me to a more civilized place to go? I'm getting nothing but static."

"I only go where I'm assigned. And you weren't even _invited_."

Ignoring me he pulled over. "Well, this is as good of a place as any, don't you think?"

I hopped out of the jeep and stretched, "Yeah Q… whatever you say."

"And don't you think I've said all I have to say. Our conversation isn't over."

_Shit._

***************

"They've stopped and are setting up camp. But there's no doubt they're heading for Tenajo." Heero lowered his binoculars. "What do you what to do?"

Dekim frowned. "It could cause complications. When are the reports due in?"

"A hour or so, I sent the order for them when we first caught of them this morning. The license plates are registered as unknown so its taking longer than expected to figure out who the hell they are and what they are doing here."

"Everything was going so well. These complications do annoy me."

"Then remove it. Isn't that why I'm here for?"

Dekim smirked "Aa. You came highly recommended. What do you suggest?"

"Take them out. It won't be hard to out here."

"What if they aren't so innocent and have ties?"

Heero shrugged.

"Bloodthirsty fool."

"Iie. You wanted a solution and I gave you one."

"Don't be so cocky. I've put down better men than you."

Heero looked undeterred. "If you say so." He raised his binoculars again. "Now would be the time."

"We'll wait!" Dekim snapped. He would have said no such thing, but he wouldn't have that Heero boss HIM around. "Go and wait for the reports and return when they've come in."

Heero immediately turned with indifference and started the jeep. His obedience should have asserted his feeling of superiority, but Heero did not fear him and that angered him to no end. "Oh but if you feel like killing someone I wouldn't be too disappointed if Quinz was to end up dead."

Heero quirked an eyebrow, "You're sure?"

"Hai."

"Then I'll take care of it."

"Aren't you curious as to why?"

"No."

He proceeded to tell him anyway. "He's a very stupid man. He runs off at the mouth. He's been too curious. Don't you dare make the same mistake." 

"Why I should I?" Heero met his gaze. "When I don't give a damn."

Dekim shook in frustration as he watched him disappear. He should have felt triumphant with his command to kill, but he didn't. Heero would get Quinz when it was convenient. He needed his entire team for this job. But after Tenajo…

***************

The trucks and equipment had arrived by the time Heero returned to camp. He stood there quietly until Quinz was done giving orders and finally walked toward him.

"Better get some unless you think you can do without, Heero. Can you walk on water too?"

"I'll get it later."

"Know what it is?"

"Seen it before."

"Bet you didn't know you'd need it here. Dekim tries to make it a secret but I knew it was coming."  
He was right, Heero thought. Quinz was stupid to be talking so openly. "Have the reports come in?"

"I checked the fax machine fifteen minutes ago. Nothing. Well, except from Morrisey."

"Morrisey?"

"He's always getting call and faxes from him. You didn't know? Maybe he doesn't think so much of you after all."

"Maybe not. Just go and check again."

Quinz shrugged Heero followed him to the tent. "Still nothing.  
"Are you sure? Maybe its out of paper."  
Quinz bent over the machine, "LookI'm telling you there nothing here dammit. Leave me-"

Heero's arm wrapped around his throat, it didn't take much to break his neck.

***************

**January 22,**

**12:30 a.m.**

** **

"So?"

Heero passed him the files. "There seems to be no connections with any government agencies. Quatre Raberba Winner, nineteen, has a thriving industry in many parts of the world and colonies alike. His husband, Trowa, seems to not have any permanent job."

"The other?"

"Duo Maxwell, also nineteen. Photo-journalist."

Dekim frowned. "I don't like that."

"He's on assignment."

"Why now?"

Heero shrugged. Dekim focused on the two pictures included. Winner had light blonde hair, sea green eyes, and soft fine features, while Duo Maxwell had long chestnut hair, cherubic face, and a set of sparking violets. 

"How long are they to be gone?"

"Two, three weeks. No one would bother searching for them for about a week. They have a cellular but can't use it. The lines are already cut in Tenajo so it'll be weeks before a crew would notice to come out and fix them."

"Your point?"

"Be rid of the obstacle. Why let them go on in when I could go in and dispose of them where no one could find them?"

"You are a persistent bastard aren't you?"

"It's the smartest course."

"I'll decide that. You have no idea what's involved."

"I don't intend to prod. I don't intend to end up like Quinz."  
"You did it already?" Dekim searched Heero's face.

Heero almost looked surprised. "Of course."

Pleasure flooded Dekim. He had regained control. But it was spoiled by his casual attitude. "I won't let you have them. Let them go into Tenajo."

Heero was silent.

He wasn't happy Dekim realized. Good. Maybe he should have let him do his job. But it didn't really matter anyway. He tingled with excitement as he realized that even at that moment it was already going on. 

***************

"You must have slept well. You look rested."

"I'll be even more rested by the time we leave here." I met Quatre's gaze. "I'm fine… So back off."

Quatre smiled. "I'll start packing things up. You go eat some breakfast."

I nodded, but opted to sticking to only some coffee. I took a deep breath and scanned the surrounding area.

It was… quaint.

Quatre appeared again. "Now everything is going to be ok, right?"

"If you can keep yourself from-" Oh what the hell I thought. "Yeah Q… everything's gonna be great."

"Great!" He beamed "And…?"

"And?" I blink. Then sweatdropped. "And I'm glad you came."

Quatre giggled and returned to the jeep. I couldn't help myself, I smiled too.

"So are we ready?" He asked as I approached. I set in the last of the things, mostly the coffee, and jumped inside. "Then let's go! WE should get there by two and I want us to be swinging in hammocks by four. I'm sure it'll be paradise!"

*************

***I'm SERIOUSLY typing out Chapter 2 as I post this so it should be out soon enough…. Then depending on reviews I'll decide if I'll continue of drop the whole thing. I'm telling you I've never really bad a even partly semi-serious fic. O.oLet me know.. okies?***


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Note: I think I forgot to mention that the majority of this was in Duo's POV. ^^;;;Gomen! Chapter 2

Tenajo was definitely NOT paradise.

It looked like a town left to bake in the sun. If I looked hard enough I could see a fountain good enough for picture taking in the center surrounded by three adobe buildings. And at the far end of the plaza was a small church.

"Oh it's so pretty!" Quatre chimed. "My hammock is almost in sight!"

"I doubt you could sleep with all that noise… Quatre you shoulda mentioned there were going to be coyotes around. I don't think that-" I stiffened. Those weren't coyotes.

Dogs.

I had heard that sound before.

Those dogs were howling, dozens of them. And the mournful call was coming from below them near the town. I feel myself begin to shake.

Quatre looked at me worriedly, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"N-nothing." It just couldn't be! I mean how many times had I awoken to the sounds of those phantom dogs?

"Don't give me that, are you sick?" Quatre insisted.

"L2…" I manage to say. "It may sound crazy… but we have to hurry. **_Hurry_** Quatre!!!"

Quatre without a second thought floored the pedal leaping faster toward the town. 

***************

We didn't see the first body until we reached the fountain. A woman lay in its shadows.

"Why isn't anyone helping her?" Quatre asked frantically as he leaped out over to her. "S-she's dead."

I had already known she would be.

"What's happening?"

I blink. "I dunno." It was the truth… this wasn't L2. What happened there COULDN'T happen here, could it? "How did she die?" I turned back to Quatre

"I don't know… disease maybe? It don't look like there was a struggle. What do you know about this?"

"I don't know anything!" I squeak. "But I believe there will be others… come on!" I grabbed Quatre's wrist and dragged him toward the cantina.

We found four bodies inside of the cantina. Quatre went to each one.

"All dead?" I whisper. Quatre nodded. "Is it contagious?"

"It doesn't seem to be." Quatre said. "How did you know?"

"The dogs. In L2 we heard dogs from miles away. Everyone had been butchered by guerillas."

"Everyone…?" Quatre looked haunted. "Lets check all the houses. I fail to think that everyone is dead because dogs are howling. Maybe we can find someone who can help."

There were two dead in the shop next door. A woman behind the counter and a child that had chocolate smeared on his face. Children love sweets, I thought dully.

"What are you doing?" Quatre asked.

I look down at the camera that I had just taken a picture of the little boy with.

_Focus. Shoot. L2 again._

But I wouldn't have to take pictures here. There wouldn't be any secrets or hidden mass graves. "I don't know." I mutter and stuff the camera away again.

"Duo don't cry…"

I hadn't even realized I was. I wiped my tears on the back of my hand. "What do you figure it was?" I asked.

Quatre looked thoughtful for a minute. "Its hard to say, there's all kinds of viruses springing up. It could just as easily be something in their water. Cholera is a frequent outbreak in Mexico. Whatever it is we'll need help." He picked up the phone."No dial tone. I guess we'll have to try the next house."

The next house had no dead and the telephone didn't work either.

"Maybe you should leave Tenajo Duo."

"The HELL I am! I'm not leaving you here!"

Quatre smiled and nodded. "It was only a thought. Lets look and see if we can find any survivors."

During the next few hours we found 43 dead. Many were in their own homes. And then we came across the church. Where we found the priest gasping for breath.

"Duo! Get some water! Hey can you tell me what happened here? Do you know if anyone else is alive?"

The priest eyes opened. "The root… the root…" Was he saying they had been poisoned?

"What happened? What killed those people?"

"The root…" the priest gasped again.

"Duo?! Where's the water?!?"

"It doesn't matter." I mumble. "He's dead."

The priest's eyes were open staring up at me. Death. So much horror and death. Shuddering I walked out of the church. I sank down on the porch and wrapped my arms around myself. I just couldn't stop shaking. I looked up. The sun was beginning to descend. It was Blood-red. Death red.

Would those dogs ever stop their wailing?

L2.This wasn't L2. But what if it was?

A town without communication. That was the first thing the guerillas had done in L2… cut the phone lines. But this was a small town there was no reason for it to have been destroyed.

But had there been a reason for L2?

Maybe just a few pictures… Just in case.

I pulled out my camera again. Just a few pictures, then I'd find Quatre. 

The woman by the fountain. 

_Focus. Shoot._

The bartender at the cantina. 

_Focus. Shoot._

The old woman curled up by her rosebush in her garden.

_Focus. Shoot._

Dead. So many had died. 

Why was I taking pictures? It was as if the shutter clicked according to its own desires. I wanted to stop. But I couldn't. It seemed as if the entire world was dead. But Quatre and I were alive. I had to hold onto that truth.

I went back out into the street. It was dark now.

Silence.

I walked one block, two.

"Quatre?"

Another dog howled. Did that dog belong to the little boy in the store? No, I mustn't think that way. It was easier not to think of them as individuals. I had learned that after L2. "Quatre?"

Where was he? Panic soared through me. What if something had happened to him? "QUATRE?!"

"I'm in here." 

Relief poured through me as I hurried over to my friend.

"I've found a baby Duo. Everyone else in the house is dead. Come on."

The baby was a plump little girl, not over 12 months with curly black hair and tiny gold hoops in her ears.

"And the baby's not sick?"

Quatre shrugged. "She woke up a minute ago and smiled at me." Quatre smiled down at the little girl. "I thought you needed to see her."

I nodded gratefully. "I did."

We stared down at the baby for several moments.

"Gomen Quatre…. I shouldn't have brought you here."

"Its not your fault."

"How are we going to keep her alive?"

"No choice. We have to get her out of town." Quatre frowned. 

"Well we didn't finish searching stay with her while I see if there's someone else."

Quatre smiled, "Its not logical… but if it'll make you feel better be back in forty minutes, there's only three blocks left. I want to get Iris out as soon as possible."

I blink. "Iris?"

"Yeah" Quatre chuckles "We couldn't call her 'that one' now could we? That and I kinda like the sound of it"

I flashed a smile before exiting through the door. But I was certain I was only going to find more horror.

Unless there was another Iris.

I willed myself not to think about. Just do it. I clenched my fists and trudged down the street.

*******************

There were no more Irises.

Just death and the howling dogs.

I took a step onto the porch of the last house and took a deep breath, and that's when I saw the string of lights heading toward the town.

Cars? No they were too big. Trucks then, and they were coming fast. They would be here any moment.

Thank God.

Three trucks roared by me, army trucks headed for the plaza. I could feel the fear ice through me. 

There had been army trucks in L2 too…

I was being paranoid. It could be help. Or could it be-?

I had to get back to Quatre.

I flew down the steps, through the gate and down a block.

Quatre looked up as I ran through the door, "What is it? I heard the-"

"You've got to get out! Take her away from here!"

"Duo! What are you talking about?!"

"The army trucks have arrived but they're too soon!"

"You don't know that! They could be-"

"Quatre it doesn't _feel_ right. Leave now. Run up into the hills. I'll check everything out and if it's ok I'll come up and get you. Please?!?" I pleaded.

"Duo I'm not going to leave you here!"

"Quatre… they could HURT her."

I could see he was battling by the way he swayed back and forth.

"Christ Quatre just go! And don't you DARE follow me. Just get _out._"

I ran through the door toward the plaza and prayed he wouldn't follow me. Run Quatre. Be safe. 

Men were pouring from the army trucks. Men dressed in white decontamination suits and helmets, gleaming in the darkness. One was moving toward the fountain. The others fanned out entering the houses on the three sides of the square. One stood silent beside the back of the truck.

It could still be all right I reasoned. Taking a deep breath I hurried toward the truck.

"You've come too late!" I called. "They're all dead. Everyone is-"

The man who had reached the fountain was pouring something into the water.

"What are you doing? It's too late to-"

The man by the truck turned toward me and I gasped as the headlights illuminated his face behind the transparent visor. I instinctively turned to run away. He laid one of his gloved hands on my shoulder.

"You're right… it IS too late."

That was the last thing I saw before his fist came arching toward my face.

***So how am I doing?^_^;;;***


	4. Chapter 3

And Then You Die…

** **

Chapter 3

** **

White walls and the strong smell of antiseptic… the same smell that has assaulted me when I woke up in the hospital in L2.

_No._

Panic raced through me has my eyes flew open.

"Don't be afraid."

A man was smiling down at me. I had never seen him before. I started to sit up but collapsed back on the bed as dizziness overcame me.

"I would recommend not moving too quickly." The man said very soothingly. You've been very ill. We're not sure the fever is gone yet."

"Fever?"

Was he a doctor? "Who are you…?" I manage to get out.

He bowed slightly. "Dekim Barton. I've been put in charge of this unfortunate situation at Tenajo."

Tenajo.

He considered what happened unfortunate? What an understatement!

"Where am I?"

"San Andreas. A very small military medical facility."

"How long have I been here."

"Two days. You were brought here directly when my man found you at Tenajo."

"Your man…?" Memory flooded back to me. Cold blue eyes and a face that was hard and emotionless. "He _hit _me."

"Heero has been taken care of. You were running at him and he was afraid you'd contaminate him."

He hadn't been afraid. And I was running _from _him not _to_ him.

"I wasn't ill. He knocked me unconscious."

"Yes well… it was after you woke up that he realized you were ill. You were screaming and out of control. He had to give you a shot. You don't remember?"

"Of course I don't. It didn't happen. And if he told you I was sick… he lied."

Dekim shook his head.

"I'm telling you he deliberately attacked me. And contaminate him with what? What happened at Tenajo?"

"Cholera. A particularly virulent strain."

"You're sure? Quatre said that-" Terror rip through me. "Quatre. Where is he?! Is he ill too?"

"Yes. But he's not doing very well, but don't worry. He'll be on his way to recovery soon."

"I want to see him."

"That's not possible. You're too ill."

"I'm not… I feel fine." It was a lie. I was light-headed and felt sluggish. "And I want to see him."

"Tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime I have a favor to ask you. You can imagine the panic that could be caused by this if word got out before we could complete our investigation."

I couldn't believe my ears, "You want to cover it up?"

He looked shocked. "No, we merely need a bit of time. Water samples were taken and we're waiting for word back from the Centers for Disease Control. As soon as we hear something, we'll take some action."

I supposed that made sense. Damage control WAS common. Dekim's request was all that bad. I'm just being paranoid I reasoned. Maybe I was ill. But they said they had TAKEN water samples. But yet they had been pouring something INTO the water. What if this was some sort of foul-up and they were trying to cover it up?

"What do you want from me?" I demanded.

"Your patience and silence for the next few days. Is that too much?"

"Maybe. I want to see Quatre now."

"You aren't up for it and neither is he."

I tried to think through my growing sense of uneasiness. Something wasn't right. If he wasn't letting me see Quatre it meant one of two things. He had gotten away with Iris or he was a prisoner. Dekim went to the door and motioned someone in. "It's time for your shot now."

"Shot?"

"You need rest. Sleep is healthy for you."

I went rigid as an orderly entered carrying a hypodermic tray.

"I just woke up!" I demanded. "I don't NEED to go back to sleep!"

"Sleep will bring you wisdom."

"I need-" I jerk as the needle enters my right arm. And then…

Darkness.

***************

The next 24 hours were lost to me. I woke and slept. 

Sometimes I was alone and then sometimes with Dekim staring down at me.

Where was Quatre? I had to find-

The needle again.

***************

Dekim was standing over me again. But this time he wasn't alone. That hard face… those blue eyes gazing down upon me like ice chips— they were familiar. _Heero._ The guy in Tenajo. The one who hit me. Dekim said he had been punished but he looked as if he wouldn't tolerate such a thing.

"You can't put it off too much longer." Heero spoke. "He is a witness after all."

"Calm down. The disposal of this American citizen can wait." Dekim smiled down at me. "Ah, how do we feel now that we are awake again."

I could barely form words… but I formed one that matter, "Kisama."

His smile faded. "I am, but how rude of you to comment on it. Maybe you're right Heero. Perhaps I've been indulging Trieze."

"I want… to see… Quatre."

"Not possible. He's much too ill."

"Liar… he ran… he got… away."

"Think what you will. Come Heero."

They were gone and the darkness started to settle in. No… I had to fight it.

They wanted to kill me. Heero wanted to do it right away but Trieze had objected-

Wait. Who was Trieze? Didn't matter. Only Dekim and Heero were the threats.

And what I witnessed? A cover-up? That didn't really matter either. Keeping Quatre and myself alive was what did matter. Dekim wasn't letting me see him so he _must_ have escaped. And if he did Dekim was probably already searching for him. I had to get to him and warn him… But I was so weak I couldn't even lift a finger.

But I wasn't ill. Dekim had lied about that. I still had a sore jaw from where Heero had hit me and a band-aid on my arm from the needle. I would be ok just as long as I could shake off the sedatives. I had to fight them.

Think. Plan. There HAS to be a way out.

***************

It was nearly sunset when Dekim returned. I quickly shut my eyes.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wake up now, Duo. You don't mind me calling you Duo, do you? I feel very close to you now."

My eyes remained closed. He shook me. I slowly opened my eyes.

"There. You must feel dreadful. Do you remember you remember who I am?" he smiled.

"Kisama." I whispered.

His smile faded. "I'll ignore that since our time together is growing short. I need some information. We have to be careful about using certain sources, and Heero has told me nothing of value about you. I told Trieze that such painstaking methods weren't necessary but he insists that it's unsafe to take any blind action." he gently brushed my bangs back away from my face. "I do so hate to make Trieze unhappy."

I wanted to bite his hand, spit in his face, ANYTHING to that son of a bitch. But it would be pointless and it wasn't what I had planned so I waited. 

"You don't mind if I ask a few question now do you? Then you can go back to sleep."

I didn't answer. 

He frowned, "Duo?"

"When I get… to see… Quatre."

His frowned disappeared. "Oh is that all? After you tell me what I want."

Bullshit."Promise?"

"Of course. Now you came here to do a travel article?"

I nodded.

"Who hired you?"

He was almost on top of me. That wouldn't give me a chance; he could easily overpower me. Just take a few steps back. "Lady Une."

"You knew her before?"

"I've done several articles in the past for her." I kept my voice slurred. "Now may I see-"

"Not yet. Tell me about your family."

I shrug.

"No parents?"

"Well not if you happen to be an orphan, I reckon not." I faked a yawn. "Gotta sleep…"

"Soon. You're being very cooperative." He strolled over to the window.

_Yes._

"No wife? Girlfriend? No known relatives at all?" 

The bastard was trying to find out any possible next of kin or close relations that could get in the way. "No."

"Poor child, you must be lonely. No roommates?"

"Never in the U.S long enough to share the expenses." Yikes… that sounded a _bit_ too coherent.

"So you travel extensively."

His back was still to me. He thought me to weak to pose any threat to him.

"It's my job."

"And what is-"

He slumped to his knees as I hit him with the bedpan. I hit him again and he slumped to the floor.

"Kisama." I jumped on his back, straddling him. I hit him again and again until I could see the blood oozing onto the floor. Good. I thought. Maybe I cracked his head open. "Who's YOUR next of kin you son of a-"

Arms encircled my ribs from behind and I was jerked off Dekim's back.

Heero.

I struggled wildly against him. 

"Don't fight me."

The hell I wouldn't. I kicked back hitting him squarely in the shin.

"Stop it."

"Let me go."

Dekim began to stir. So I hadn't killed him after all. I panicked and frantically fought again against Heero's grip. I heard him mutter a curse as he wrapped one of his arms around my neck, just beneath my left ear.

Darkness.

***************

I awoke moments later to discover I had been strapped down to the bed. My heart was beating so hard I could barely breathe. I struggled against the restraints. No use. I was trapped.

Heero was helping Dekim to his feet, blood running down his face. He looked incredulously down at the bedpan.

"Come on I'll bandage you." Heero said. 

Dekim looked me squarely in the face. "The son of a bitch hit me with that damn bedpan."

Fear struck me. I had never seen such hatred in anyone's face.

"Punish him later. You're bleeding."

"I'm going to KILL him."

"Not now." Heero said. "You've attracted too much attention as it is. He isn't going anywhere."

Later. 

Dekim was going to kill me. Nothing was more certain to me. I had humiliated him and now I was going to die. Dekim jerked away from Heero and lurched toward me.

"You fucking slut!"He raised his hand and slapped me. "And don't think that I don't KNOW what you did before you become a photojournalist. And did you REALLY think you could kill me? You know nothing!" 

My head was ringing from the words and the blow. The room spun, and before I could speak the words tumbled out. Why not? I had nothing to lose. "I know you are a stupid man! Quatre is too smart for you. He'll get away and show everyone what an asshole you-"

He slapped me again. Harder.

I glared up at him.

He leaned over the bed, so close that I could feel his breath on my face. "You think so much of that friend of yours don't you?"

"I know he's more clever than you'll ever-"

"Do you really believe he got away from Tenajo?"

Terror seized me.

"We got him shortly after Heero brought you in. He's been here at San Andreas all the time."

"You're lying! He got away!"

"No." His gazed narrowed on my face drinking in my fear and uncertainty. "He's here."

It couldn't be true. "Then prove it. Let me see him." He shook his head. "Then you _are_ lying."

"It would only pain you to see him. It's such an unpleasant place."

"Where?"

"Four floors down." His lips curved into a malicious smile. "He's lying in a drawer in our morgue. Just as you will be soon. Your friend is dead."

He walked out of the room.

Pained crashed through me.

Quatre dead. 

The sadist enjoyed hurting me and I was sure he had lied about other things. Why should I accept what he said about Quatre? But it could be the truth. He could be dead.

_He's lying in a drawer in our morgue._

It wasn't the truth. He only wanted to hurt me. Quatre could be alive. My fingernails dug painfully into my palms as my fists clenched.

_Four floors down. He's lying in a drawer in our morgue._

***************

"Is it the truth?" Heero asked as he cleaned the cuts on Dekim's head. "Is the Winner boy here?"

Dekim ignored the question. "I want that Maxwell bitch dead. I'm through with him. To hell with Trieze."

"As you like."

"Now."

Heero nodded. "But not here. It can't be directly connected with you."

Dekim's head was pounding with pain and fury… and humiliation. "I want him to die slowly and I want to watch it. I want to do it myself."

"Then we'd better wait. Unless you can arrange to leave?"

"Not for at least another day. I expected things to move faster, we're still running the tests. There may be something wrong."

Heero threw the cloth into the sink. "Then let's deal with Maxwell so that you can deal with more important matters. It probably doesn't matter. I was just being too careful."

It did matter Dekim realized with frustration. He couldn't have an investigation getting in his way. His hesitation disappeared with Heero's next words. "If you want me to take care of it, just tell me how you want it done. It doesn't have to be quick. I know many ways."

He wanted it too, Dekim thought. "Make him disappear."

Heero nodded.

"I want to hear every detail and he must hurt for a LONG time."

"He will." Heero smiled. "I promise you."

***************

Note: Just remember things aren't always as they seem… or the people for that matter. *smiles mysteriously*


	5. Chapter 4

And Then You Die…

Chapter 4

** **

No one came near me for the rest of the night. It was sheer torture lying there bound and helping with Dekim's words playing and replaying in my head. There had to be something I could do. If only I could talk him into releasing me, then I could find another weapon… even if it WAS another bedpan

Impossible. He'd never release me. Why would he? He was just taking his time in making me suffer.

The door opened and a man stood in the doorway, his dark profile outlined against the bright lights in the corridor. He was carrying a canvas bag. Not Dekim. Not the Orderly. I couldn't see his face, but I knew who it was.  
Heero.

He closed the door and came toward me, stopping near enough for me to be able to make out his face. It was no more reassuring than the first time I had seen laid eyes on him in Tenajo. Why as it so frightening? Maybe because he looked as cold as ice, but whatever it was I couldn't take me eyes off him, and the more I looked, the more terrified I became.

"Do you know why I am here?"

"Dekim sent you to do his dirty work… Right?"

"Dekim sent me to kill you."

I open my mouth to scream, but he quickly covered it.

"I didn't say I was going to do it."

I bit him HARD.

"Kuso." He jerked his hand away.

I could taste the copper of his blood in my mouth as I once again opened my mouth to scream. This time he hit me. The room began spinning around me.

"I could have just as well have knocked you out, but I don't want to carry you. You've caused me enough trouble."

I realized vaguely that he was unbuckling the straps. Why…?

He unzipped the canvas bag, pulled out jeans, shirt, tennis shoes, and tossed them beside me. "No disturbance. Everything must go smoothly. Get dressed."

I slowly sat up, "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting you out of here.

"Why?"

"Do you want me to strap you back down?"

"I don't know why I should go anywhere with a guy who just hit me."

"Because you don't have much of a choice. And if you cause me too much trouble, I'll drop you by the wayside."

Reassuring. I thought bitterly. But he was right, I am better off now than I was a few moments ago. I started pulling on the jeans. I was so weak I could barely stand. "What make you think that you can get me out of here?"

"I told him that I'd take care of you somewhere away from here."

"What about Quatre? He said he killed him." I looked up holding my breath. "Did he?"

"I don't know."

"You HAVE to know! You work for that bastard, you were at Tenajo!"

Heero shrugged. "Dekim doesn't want his left hand knowing what his right hand is doing. I only knew about you because I was the one who brought you in. I didn't see your friend, but that doesn't mean he wasn't brought in later."

I fought my panic and despair. Heero could be lying too. "How about Iris?"

"Who?"

"There was a baby girl. She was alive."

"She was brought in a few hours after you."

My gaze flew to him. "Where? Is she still alive?"

He nodded. "Three doors down."

My initial joy immediately changed to fear. Quatre wouldn't have left Iris if he could possibly help it.

"Then Quatre must have been with her."

He shook his head.

"He wouldn't have left her!"

"He wasn't brought in with the kid. Now hurry up."

"Who are you?"

"Heero Yuy."

"I know that. Who… why would you want to help me?"

"You're in my way." The words were said with such indifference that I felt a chill go through me.

"He trusts you that much to let us walk out of here like this?"

"He doesn't trust me at all. But he knows I'm efficient in what I do." 

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what skills Heero excelled in. I pulled on and buttoned the shirt and slipped on the shoes. "Then its reasonable he'd talk about Quatre to you."

"No, it's not."

"He said he was dead."  
"Then he might be."

"You must know-"

"We're out of here." He headed for the door. "Keep your mouth shut and stay close to me."

I didn't move.

"Would you rather stay here and wait for Dekim?"

As he said that, I knew I didn't have a choice. I'd go along until I could find a way to escape.

I blinked as I stepped into the bright corridor.It was after midnight and the corridor was empty. Three nurses were gathered at a nurses' station by a bank of elevators. "Won't they stop us?" I whispered.

"They know that you've been checked out of here. They won't argue."

It seemed impossible that in a matter of minutes I would be out of here. I glanced down the hall. Only three doors away from Iris. It was only a matter of yards, but yet the idea of crossing that distance scared me to death.

"Chotto matte!"

"Wait? Hell…" he said through clenched teeth as he grabbed my elbow, "Come _on._"

"Do you think I _want_ to stay here?" I spat. "But I'm not going to leave Iris. If you can get me out you can get her out."

"I'm not going to risk-"

"I'm not going without her." I started quickly down the hall, and to my surprise he followed.

I opened to door to Iris's room. It was dark inside, but I was still able to make out the showy outline of a crib. Heero closed the door and turned on the light.

I gasped. Iris, sound asleep, was hooked up to an IV bottle and looked too pale. 

"I thought you said she was alright." I whispered.

"She's healthy enough." Heero disconnected the IV. "Dekim didn't trust any of the hospital personnel to take care of her, so he warned them that she was contagious. He didn't want anyone becoming too attached to her."

Clearly there was no danger of that happening with Heero. "So he stuck tubes in her. Just look at her. The son of a bitch drugged her."

"Good. Maybe we'll be able to get out of here without getting our heads blown off. Stay here. I'll be right back." He left the room and returned seconds later with the canvas bag that had held the clothes he gave me. 

"Give her to me."

"I'll do it." I carefully laid her in the bag and stuffed some diapers and a blanket in with her. It was a tight fit. "Do we have to zip it?"

"Hai." He was already zipping the bag. "Let's go."

"But what if there's not enough air for her-"

"Go." He pushed me through the door and down the hall, carrying the bag as if it weighed nothing swinging it slightly. "Go straight for the elevators. Don't even look at the nurses. Things have been going on that worry them, and I make them uneasy. They'll probably try to ignore me."

He was right. The nurses immediately became very busy as Heero and I approached the desk. When we were finally in the elevators I unzipped the bag a few inches. "She might not be able to breathe."

He shook his head but didn't stop me. He punched the lobby button. "I have a jeep parked in the front. We may be challenged at the gate, but I have credentials and I made sure the guards at the gates know me. It should go smoothly."

_Smoothly. _He had used that word before. Everything had to be neat and tidy. 

The door opened, and Heero took my elbow, nudging me forward into the deserted lobby. We passed the emergency fire stairs. We walked out the door and climbed into the jeep.

_Four floors down._

_He's dead._

Heero turned on the ignition.

No!

I jumped out of the jeep. "I can't leave yet. I have to go to the morgue. Quatre might be there."

"Oh no. NOT again." His hand closed on my arm. "You don't go anywhere but out that gate."

"I have to find out if he lied to me!"

"The hell you do. The morgue is a sensitive area and its guarded."

"Don't you understand? I have to _know._" I jerked away from him, darted back into the lobby, and ran toward the fire stairs. I heard him cursing behind me as I ran down the concrete steps and threw open the basement door. Around the curve at the end of the corridor a soldier stood in front of the double doors to the morgue. He raised his rifle.

Heero knocked me aside and dove for the soldier's knees. He went down and Heero straddled him. He struck downward with the edge of his hand, and the soldier went limp.

Heero glared at me. "Damn you to hell."

He was angry. Things weren't going _smoothly_ for him any longer. "I have to know." I stood up and moved toward the doors.

"Wait." He got to his feet and pushed me aside again. He went in ahead of me.

A gangly white-coated attendant jumped up from behind the reception desk. "Who are you? No one is allowed-"

"Shut up." Heero ordered. "Get down on the floor."

Heero's hand chopped down on the side of his neck and the attendant slumped forward.

"Come on," Heero said as he headed for the door next to the desk. "Let's finish this and get out of here."

I followed him into a room of stainless steel and glass-fronted cabinets full of instruments. An autopsy room. I could feel the chill begin to run through me already.

"No bodies." Heero said. "Can we get out of here now?"

I tried to swallow to ease the tension from my throat. "He said…. He was in a drawer." I walked slowly toward the white metal door at the far end of the room. Heero got there before me. He pushed open the door. I saw two refrigerated drawers set in the far wall. Drawing a deep breath, I forced myself to walk toward them.

"Only two. Good. At least, that will save time." Heero stood beside the drawer on the left. "I think you should know that Dekim received an autopsy report this morning."

My gaze flew to his face. "You said you didn't know whether-"

"I don't know who the report was on. I don't ask Dekim questions." His face was expressionless. "Have you ever seen a body after an autopsy?" I shook my head. "It's not pleasant.I don't want you fainting and forcing me to carry you out of here."

Oh no, that would cause a ripple in his plans.

He reached for the drawer pull. "I'll look for you."

I stopped him. "I don't trust you."

He shrugged and stepped back. "Suit yourself."

I drew another deep breath and reached for the pull. The door slid open easily.

Empty.

Relief poured through me. I shut the drawer then moved to the next one. Please God, let this be empty too, I prayed desperately. I could feel Heero's gaze on me as I reached for the pull.

Let it be a lie.

Please…

The drawer slid out as easily as the first one.

But it was not empty.

My stomach heaved as I whirled away from the drawer. I barely missed the sink in the next room before I threw up.

"I told you it wasn't pretty." Heero stood beside me, his hand on my waist supporting me. "If you'd listened to me, you wouldn't have had-"

"Shut up."

"Was it your friend?"

I shook my head.

He turned away. "Wash your face. I want you looking normal when we go through those gates."

I automatically turned on the water and started splashing water on my face.

"Open the door." Heero was dragging the guard from the outside through the autopsy room.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't want him found right away." He shouldered the door open himself and pulled the guard toward the refrigerated drawers.

"Is he dead?"

Heero nodded. 

"Did you have to kill him?"

"No, but it was surer." He pulled out the empty drawer, fitted the guard inside and slammed it shut. "Dead men don't get in the way."

Cold, calm, without expression or feeling. "What about the morgue attendant?"

"He's alive. I tied him up and put him in the broom closet down the hall."

"Why didn't you kill him too?"

Heero shrugged. "He's only a scared rabbit. No threat." He took a towel from beside the sink. "Stand still."

"What are-" He was rubbing my left cheek with the towel. I knocked his hand aside and stepped back. "Stop that."

He tossed me the towel. "Do the other cheek. You need color. You're too pale.

And everything must look normal everything must go smoothly. Nevermind the dead body stuffed in the drawer. Nevermind all the lives that had been snuffed out.

"Do it. We have to get out of here. I left your Iris in the jeep and there's a chance that she might wake up and start howling."

Iris. Yes, I had to think of Iris.

I scrubbed my right cheek with the towel then threw it on the counter.

He picked it up and hung it neatly on the rack. "Let's go."

Within a few minutes we had climbed into the jeep and reached the guard post at the high gate surrounding the facility.

"Keep your mouth shut." Heero leaned forward so that the light fell full on his face as the guard came out of the booth. "Open the gates."

The guard hesitated. 

"What are you waiting for? You know me," Heero said. "Open the gates."

The guard gazed uneasily past him at me and then at the canvas bag at my feet. "I've no instructions about a woman leaving the facility."

"I'm giving them to you now. Open the gates." Heero smiled. "Or better still, let's call Dekim. Of course, waking him will make him very angry. Almost as angry as this delay is making me."

The guard hurriedly stepped back and pushed the lever to open the gates. Heero pressed the accelerator, and the jeep leaped forward. The gates closed behind us.

"Will they call Dekim?" I asked as I reached down for the bag. I unzipped it and lifted Iris into my arms. She was still sleeping deeply.

"Maybe." He pressed the accelerator harder. "Although Dekim wouldn't be surprised that I took you away from here. He wanted it to be clean. But everything will be blown the minute they discover the kid missing and the guard in the morgue."

A chill went through me. Very little had been clean and smooth and neat. And the fool that I was, I was driving away from the hospital with a killer. "Where are we going?"

He glanced at me and bared his teeth in a smile. "Scared? Good. You just sit there and think about it. At the moment I can't think of anyone whose neck I'd like to break as much as yours. I might have gotten around killing that guard but you had to take the damn kid, didn't you?"

"Yes I did." For some reason his anger caused some of my fear to ebb. After watching the cool precision with which he had killed the guard, I doubted if threats were part of his modus operandi. If he really intended to kill me, he would just do it.

I hoped. 

So I repeated, "Where are we going?"

"Away from San Andreas. Now, go to sleep. I'll wake you when we get there."

"You think I'd trust you to enough to go to sleep? You just said you wanted to break my neck."

"It was only a passing thought. And you decided that I didn't mean it, didn't you?"

He read me too well. His perceptiveness made me uneasier than his viciousness. "I believe you are capable of anything."

"I am. So shut up and don't provoke me."

"Why did you help me leave that place?"

His hands clenched the steering wheel. "I'll make a bargain with you. If you'll just keep your damn mouth shut and let me think, I'll answer your questions once we get there."

"Get where?"

"Tenajo." 

I stared at him in shock. "Why are we going there?"

"After we get there."

"Now."

"My God you are stubborn." He turned and stared directly into my eyes. "I'd think you'd want to go back. The last time you saw your friend was in Tenajo."

"He can't still be there."

"Then maybe he left a message for you. Do you have anywhere else to start looking?"

"I could start with you. What do you know about Quatre?"

"If you don't shut up I'll gag you until we get there."

This was no threat. He meant what he said. "How far are we from Tenajo?"

"Three hours."

I slowly settled back in the seat and cradled Iris's small, warm body closer. Three hours and she'd be back in Tenajo. The knowledge swept over me like a dark cloud. Hold on. It would be all right. Don't start shaking. 

Had the dogs stopped howling?

***************

We reached the hill overlooking Tenajo. The same place where Quatre stopped that first day.

No lights.

No movements.

No sound.

"What happened to the dogs?"

"The public health team swept through here yesterday. They rounded up all the pets and are keeping them under observation to make sure they aren't carriers. When the relatives of the dead are notified, they'll be given a chance to adopt the pets." He smiled cynically. "It's one of those humane gestures that make politicians look good."

"The relatives haven't been notified yet?" 

Heero shrugged. "An entire town wiped out isn't small potatoes. The government wants facts before it exposes itself to the media."

"They want to cover it up."

"Probably."

"What are they covering up? A nuclear waste foul up?" 

"No."

"It wasn't cholera."

"No, but that's what the CDC report will say."

"How could-" Then I remembered the man pouring something into the fountain. "You contaminated the water yourself."

He nodded.

"If it wasn't a waste foul up, what happened at Tenajo?"

"Don't you want to go looking for your friend."

He had hit the one objective that was sure to distract me. Smart. Very smart. Every moment I was with him I was becoming more and more aware of the intelligence behind that frightening face. 

"Why have you come back?"

"Where do you want me to drop you?"

"Third house on the right." Where Quatre had found Iris, the little girl who had beaten the odds. My arms tightened around the baby. "Were there any other survivors?"

Heero shook his head. "Just you."

"I mean any other towns people beside Iris?"

"Not that I know about." He stopped the jeep. "When you finish searching come to the plaza, I'll pick you up there."

I got out. "Aren't you afraid I'll run away?"

"Doesn't matter. I'd find you."

The absolute certainty in his voice unnerved me. I felt a rush of fear that I tried to smother. "Why are you here? What are you looking for?"

"Money."

I stared at him in bewilderment. "Money?"

"If you find any don't touch it. It's mine."


	6. Chapter 5

And Then You Die…

** **

Chapter 5

** **

Quatre was not in the house. 

But there were signs that he had been there. I carefully set Iris down on the couch, and crossed the room to the crib. It appeared undisturbed. The mosquito netting was still thrown up the way I had left it when I had snatched Iris up and given her to Quatre.

I moved to the next room, which showed evidence of the people who had lived there. A wooden crucifix over the bed, photographs of a smiling older man and woman on the nightstand. Iris's grandparents? Were they dead also?

Stop it. I had come here for a purpose. I started to search around some more. No note. No other sign that Quatre had been here. I was swamped with disappointment. I had told myself before not to expect anything, but I had still felt a fugitive hope that Quatre was still here in Tenajo. No, he must have taken Iris and run as I had begged him to do.

But Iris had been taken by Dekim. And the only way that could have happened was if Quatre had been captured or killed by Dekim.

Or Heero. In the short time that I had known him he had shown himself capable of anything.

No, I wouldn't consider the possibility that Quatre was dead. Just the thought caused me to panic. Quatre HAD escaped.

A sound came from the other room. A whimper. Iris was stirring at last.

I knelt by the couch. Iris's big, dark eyes were open and she was smiling.

"Hi," I whispered gently. "Here we are again. Now what am I going to do with you?"

Iris gurgled at me.

I stroked the baby's cheek. "Where did you lose Quatre, huh? You'd be much more happier with him. He knows a lot more than I do about babies. I'm a rank amateur."

Iris reached up, caught a strand of my hair and tugged.

I laughed softly. "What the hell, we'll get along. We just have to decide what to do."

And who to trust.

***************

After changing Iris's diaper I went in search of some food. I found a few sealed jars of baby food in one of the cupboards. I opened one and got half the minced meat down Iris before she started playing with her food.

"No games," I told her firmly. "We've got serious stuff here." I picked up Iris and carried her out onto the porch. I looked up into the hills. Was Quatre somewhere in those hills trying to reach the coast?

Gods I hope so.

I was tempted to run toward those hills myself. Well, why not? I have a good sense of direction and a certain amount of experience in rough country. Three years before I had found myself stranded in Afghanistan and made it all the way to the Pakistani border. There was a good chance I could make it to the coast.

_I'd find you._

You just try Heero.

Iris whimpered and I loosened my grasp, I must have unconsciously tightened it. No, this wasn't the time for running. Hiking through the hills by myself was one thing, but toting a baby around a wilderness was another. I had to be responsible and not act impulsively.

I would have to wait and see. Heero might not know where Quatre was, but he understood more than I did about what happened here in Tenajo.

I went down the porch steps and started toward the plaza. Heero was coming out of the cantina carrying a shiny metal briefcase by the time I had reached the fountain. "That didn't take you long." He said.

"He's not there. You knew he wouldn't be."

"I knew it wasn't likely. So did you." He glanced at Iris. "She woke up. Is she okay?"

"Fine. I fed her and changed her and she couldn't be happier."

"You've been busy." He paused. "Did you find any money?"

"No." I replied repulsed. "I didn't look."

"I haven't found any either." He crossed the street to the general store. "Wait here."

Robbing the dead. He was even worse than I had thought.

He was frowning as he came out of the general store a few minutes later. He clearly hadn't found any. Good.

"Any money belongs to those poor people's relatives."

He shook his head. "It belongs to me." He was climbing the steps of the church.

I followed after him. "My God, what are you doing? This is a church!"

"The priest is dead isn't he?"

"Yes. And that makes stealing from the church all right?"

"You found him?"

I nodded.

"Where?"

I pointed to the spot. "Next to the poor box."

"What poor box?"

I shrugged. "It was beside him. Maybe Quatre kicked it."

His gaze raked the area and then focused on the second pew. I stood in disbelief as I watched him walk over, pull the poor box from beneath the pew, and lifted the lid.

"Ninmu kanyrou." He said softly.

I moved closer and looked down into the box at stacks of violet-blue and lilac twenty-peso bills.

"You've found what you're looking for," I said coldly. "May we leave now?"

He unfastened the metal briefcase. "Stand back a few feet." I did and watched him empty the poor box into the briefcase.

"Let's go." He picked up the briefcase and went out the door.

I followed him. "Why do you want that money?"

"So I won't have to go back to San Andreas and risk getting my head blown off."

"It's not much money. It wouldn't set you up for life."

He didn't answer. "Get in the jeep. I'll make one more sweep and be right with you. We've got to get out of here. We've stayed longer than I like."

I didn't move. "Where are we going?"

"Into the hills. Dekim has scouts all around here. We were bound to have been seen, we have to get out of town."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is going on."

"I don't know how much to tell you."

"You haven't told me _anything_."

"I've probably told you more than I should."

"For my own good?"

"No, for mine."

"Of course, why in the hell should I have assumed anything else?"

"You shouldn't. I've already done more for you than I should have. I'm an ass. I should have handled it better." He started toward the general store. "Now there's only damage control."

"And the money is damage control?"

"Get in the jeep."

A chill went through me. Damage control could mean mending things with Dekim by killing Iris and me. Why should I trust him? He was a murderer and a grave robber.

But who else could I trust?

Myself. No one but myself. Any other choices could be fatal.

I spun on my heel and started across the plaza. "I have to go to Iris's house and get food and diapers for her. You can pick us up there."

I could feel his gaze on me, but I resisted the urge to look back.

Besides, the gesture would have looked suspicious.

***************

He was gone.

Shit.

Heero. Walked out of Iris's house and jumped into the jeep. He couldn't have been gone longer than ten minutes; he was on foot and had a baby. He shouldn't be too difficult to run down. Dammit the situation was difficult enough without having to drag him back kicking and screaming.

But if that was the way it had to be then so be it. There was no way he could let him get away.

***************

Heero and Maxwell were in the hills above Tenajo, but they had separated.

Dekim hung up the phone, leaned back in bed and contemplated the report. Heero's recent actions added up to a disturbing total. Was he CIA? Very possibly. And, if he was CIA, how much did he know? How much had he found out here and how much in Libya?

He reached for the phone again and called Trieze.

"There's a slight problem," Dekim said. "The man you sent me has disappeared.

"Heero?"

"He killed one of my guards and took Maxwell out of the facility."

Trieze swore intensely. "How could you let that happen?"

"You're the one who sent me Heero. I assumed he could be trusted. What do you know about him?"

"He came excellently recommended in China and he behaved impeccably while he was with me."  
"But you still shoved him off on me when you got the opportunity."

"Not because he wasn't trustworthy. That would be cutting off my nose to spite my face."

"Oh yes, your fortune-teller."

"Are you mocking me?" Trieze asked.

Dekim retreated. Now wasn't the time to distance Trieze. "Merely a remark. How much does Heero know about your end?"

"Nothing. He had a job to do and he did it."

The baka probably wouldn't have realized if Heero had found out everything. "We need to know about Heero."

"What if he's not CIA?"

"Then we'll hear from him."

"You should have gotten rid of Maxwell when you had the chance. It was dangerous to keep him alive."  
Trieze was forgetting that he too had hesitated about ending his life. But Dekim chose not to argue. "That mistake can be rectified. They've not made it out of the country yet. They were sighted in Tenajo an hour ago."

"Then why are you talking to me? Go after them."

"That's my intention. Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"You better be right. I can continue without you if you don't repair this bungling ineptitude."

"I'll repair it. Just see what you can find out about Heero. He's our prime concern."  
Dekim waited politely for Trieze to hang up first. It was difficult to display courtesy to assholes, but he had learned a discipline and control they would never know. He would be glad when he no longer needed them. His own plans were almost in place. He needed only a key player to launch the first phase, and Morrisey should be calling any day now with the location of a suitable tool. He needed to be patient for only a little bit longer.

"Mueller," he called.

Sergeant Mueller appeared in the doorway.

"Order my car. I'm going to Tenajo."

Mueller nodded and vanished.

He wasn't as bright as Quinze, but he was silent and obedient and he lacked the curiosity and greed that had made Quinze dangerous. At least Heero had gotten rid of the problem. Too bad he now presented a far greater one. Still, it couldn't take more than a day or two to find him and Maxwell. And then Heero would be vanquished. The thought sent a surge of excitement and eagerness through Dekim.

Where are you Heero?

Suddenly Dekim had a vision of Duo Maxwell before him. Of course the boy had to die. It was absolutely imperative.

And he would be so easy to kill.

***************

They'd found my tracks again.

I wiped the sweat out of my eyes and moved to the side of the trail. The shale was slippery, but it left no mark of passing.

I could hear the soldiers calling to one another on the other side of the hill. Soon they would reach the crest and I would be in plain view. I had to find a hiding place before that could happen.

I was becoming scared. I had thought I as home free the second day after I had lost Heero, but then the soldiers had come. Had that been his doing?

Iris whimpered in her blanket sling I had fashioned. "Hush." I whispered.

I couldn't blame the poor kid for complaining. She was as hot as I and hungry. I had run out of food in the third day and refused all the edible plants and berries I could find on the hillside.

But Iris mustn't cry now. Not now. 

I skidded and fell. Picking myself up, I fell again. 

A grove of tress lay unsteadily on the sloping hillside.

The soldiers were closer to the crest.

I was almost there.

I was in the grove. 

Nothing.

The pine tress were gangly, the leaves meager. Even if I could climb one of them, I would be seen easily.

A fallen tree. Its branches spread over the ground to form a cover. The dead branches formed a canopy, but I could still be seen by anyone who stooped and peered through the foliage. Or heard, if I couldn't control the harshness of my breathing.

Or if Iris didn't quiet down.

"Please, Iris. Onegai."

Iris's whimpers increased.

The soldiers were close. They must have entered the grove. They were talking.

Let them keep on talking. Maybe they wouldn't hear Iris.

They stopped talking.

I held my breath.

Iris fell mercifully quiet.

The tress shifted above me.

I braced myself.

No, they were only stepping on the tree to jump over it. I could see their legs as they landed on the other side.

Iris stirred in her sling.

_No._

The soldiers were talking again. They didn't like the heat or spending the day in the hills. They didn't like Dekim. He was a son of a bitch.

Amen to that. I had to fight to hold down a snicker.

Iris whimpered again.

My heart stopped.

***************

A bird?

Mueller turned to look back at the grove.

They should probably check it out. They'd been instructed to follow every lead. Dekim would be furious if they lost him. He's sent everyone climbing these fucking hills, even him. Mueller had thought that he had inherited a soft job when he'd been elevated to Quinze's position, but here he was sweating and swearing with the rest of the ordinary soldiers.

"You see something?" Jimenez asked.

The grove was deep and shallow. Mueller saw nothing.

But had he heard something?

He'd almost fallen on that damn slippery shale when they'd gone down the slope. His ankle sill throbbed.

Screw Dekim.

It was a bird.

"I was just catching my breath." He turned around and started down the hill. "I don't see anything."

***************

I could feel every muscle go limp as I realized the soldiers hadn't heard Iris.

They were leaving the grove, searching the hillside beyond the trees for more signs of my passing through.

If I was very still, and if I could keep Iris still…

There was a chance.

The soldiers were almost out of sight. In a moment it would be safe to move out and move to find another hiding place for the night.

Or maybe I should keep moving. How far was I from the coast? I wondered wearily. I must have come at least thirty miles from Tenajo, and that left another twenty to go.  
Twenty miles. The distance seemed so small when you were driving in a car. It was an eternity on foot. It seemed impossible to—

It wasn't impossible. That was only a stupid excuse because I was so tired. I wouldn't give up. Iris needed me. And Quatre needed me.

Iris whimpered again.

"Don't nag kid, we're on our way." I carefully edged out from beneath the tree. "But I need a little help, okay?"

I needed more than a little help.

But I'd take what I could get.

***************

Darkness was falling. They could no longer see to track Maxwell. He would be safe for the night.

Dekim clenched his hands into fists as he gazed up at the hills.

Four days. Those fools had been searching for four days and they still hadn't found him. Heero had vanished without a trace, but there was no reason why his men should not have been able to capture the boy. He could almost imagine Maxwell laughing at him.

Iie, they had pushed him too hard for him to be amused by the hunt. They had found blood on the rocks that afternoon.

Why would he not give up?

***************

A hand clamped over my mouth jarring me awake.

Someone was astride me. Sweat, musk, a man…

Dekim's soldiers. They had found the cave…

I rolled to the side and struck up with my fist and connected with flesh.

"Be _still._ I won't hurt you."

Heero!

I struck out again.

"Dammit I am here to help you!"

Iris let out a shrill wail from the pallet I had made for her up against the wall.

Heero stiffened, "What the hell?"

He had relaxed his hold. I heaved up to the side, dislodging him, and jumped to my feet.

Do it right, I told myself. Do it right.

I whirled, my fist punching his stomach as he got to his feet. I grabbed his arm, swiveled, and flipped him over my shoulder to the ground.

I could hear him swearing as I went and snatch up Iris and took off for the cave's entrance. He brought me down with a tackle. I fell to my side instinctively protecting Iris, and rolled the baby away. My knee sliced up into Heero's groin. He grunted with pain but flipped me over and straddled me. His hands closed on my throat.

He was going to kill me. Gods, I didn't want to die. I dug my fingers into the backs of his hands.

"Yameru." He said through his teeth. "I'm not used to pulling back. I could break your neck without—" He took a deep breath and slowly loosened his grasp on me. "Listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to hurt Iris. I'm trying to help you."

"Bullshit."

"Then run away. Be stupid. In a day or two Dekim will catch up with you. He's not camped but four miles from here right now."

I glared up at him. "How do you know that if you aren't with them?"

"He tracked you. I tracked him. He was easier than you."

I shook my head. "When I lost you, you called out for the soldiers."

"I didn't have to call them. They were pouring though these hills eight hours after you took off from Tenajo. If I'd joined Dekim, wouldn't they be here right now?"

Iris let out another wail.

"She needs you." Heero said. "And we need her to be quiet. I'll let you up if you promise to hear me out."

"Would you trust me?"

"No, but I think you're intelligent enough to weigh the consequences. I can get you out of these hills."

"I can get myself out."

"Maybe. But you can't radio a helicopter in for a pickup. Do you want to dodge Dekim for the next week and risk getting Iris captured again?"

I went still. A helicopter.

"Get off me." 

"Will you listen?"

"I'll listen."

He lifted himself off of me and I sat up and reached for Iris. She wailed again.

"She has to be quiet." Heero said. "There are guards around the perimeter of Dekim's camp."  
The warning caused my suspicions to ease a little.

"What do you expect when you scare her half to death like that?" I cuddled the baby closer. "And she's hungry and probably wet again." I felt her diaper. Damp. "I'm out of diapers. I was only able to snatch a few when I left Tenajo, and I had no time or way to keep them clean. Do you have anything I could use?"

"Maybe. I'll look in my backpack." He shrugged the pack off his back. "I wasn't prepared for this."

"Neither was I." I replied dryly.

Heero switched on the flashlight he had taken out of his backpack.

"Turn it off. They'll see it." I said frantically.

He shook his head. "It's okay. We're far enough into the cave." He shoved the metal briefcase aside at the bottom of the pack, pulled out a white t-shirt, and tossed it at me. "How's this?"

"It will have to do." I glanced at him as I tore it in two. "Do you have any food?"

"Field rations."

"Get it out and open it. I'll try to feed her." I knelt and changed Iris's diaper. "How did you find me here?"

"I tracked you."

"So did the soldiers. They didn't find me."

"They almost did this afternoon. In the grove."

I went still. "How did you know that?"

"I was tracking them at that point. I was pretty sure they were on the right scent."

"I didn't see you."

"I saw you."

"And you tracked me to this cave without my seeing you? How? When I saw Dekim's soldiers?"

"Maybe I'm better than they are." He said simply.

"Why are you better? Have you done this for a living?"

"Sometimes. My profession often calls for hunting skills." He watched as I sat Iris on my lap and began feeding her. "You do that very well."

"Anyone can feed a baby. So, start talking. I'm listening."

"You shouldn't have run away from me. I'm trying to help you."

"As I recall buddy, when you weren't ordering me around, you were threatening me. I was in your way."

"That didn't mean that I wouldn't get you safely away from Dekim. I never had any other intentions."

I studied his face. It was difficult to read the expression on that face, but instinct told me that he was telling the truth.

"I couldn't know that. You wouldn't talk to me."

He shrugged. "I made a mistake. I was hoping it wouldn't be necessary. I'll talk to you now."

"What happened at Tenajo?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Don't be a baka. You're damn right I do." My voice began to vibrate with feeling. "You _listen_ to me. I don't give a damn about your damage control. All I care about is what's happened to Quatre and me in the last week. I have a right to know. Now you tell me."

He was silent a moment. "Ryoukai. Ask me questions. I'll try to answer what I can."

"How did those people die?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I think it may have been an artificially produced disease."

I stared up at him in shock. "Some kind of germ-canister foul-up?"

He smiled sardonically. "You keep thinking it's an accident."

"Are you saying that the Mexican government purposely loosed that sickness on Tenajo?"

"The Mexican government has nothing to do with it."

"Isn't Dekim a colonel in the Mexican army?"

"A small convenience that allows him a certain amount of freedom. It allowed him to neatly cover up the results of the experiment."

"Experiment?"

"They had to see if the biological agent worked. Tenajo was a testing ground."

_A little boy lying on the floor of the store with chocolate smeared on his palms._

Tears stung my eyes. "Damn you to hell."

"I didn't know." He said roughly.

"You had to know. You worked for him."

"I knew something was going on at Tenajo, but I didn't suspect what it was until the night it happened. For the past few months there were some cases of minor illness in the Tenajo area. Nothing fatal. I think Dekim must have been practicing. I thought it was going to be the same thing—Dekim didn't let anyone—" He stopped in mid sentence. "I didn't know."

"Why did—" I tried to steady my voice. "Why would they do this?"

"When a test takes place on a limited plane it's usually meant to be applied on a larger scale somewhere else."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

I felt dazed. It was difficult to think. "You said the public health department did a sweep. Why didn't they pick up on something?"

"Dekim didn't call them until the clean up and the Cholera was planted. He has his own doctors in the Mexico City morgue who will give an autopsy reports to the effect that it was cholera that killed Tenajo."

"All this trouble… it must have been in the planning stage for a long time."

"Two years that I know about."

"If you work with Dekim, why did you help me?"

"I don't work with Dekim." He added dryly. "Can't you tell? I'm one of the good guys."

"No I can't tell. I just watched you kill a man."

"Then don't trust me. Don't trust anyone. But let me help you. I _can_ help you, Duo."

"How? Are you some sort of government agent?"

"Some sort."

"Be specific dammit."

"I've been with the CIA for a number of years."

I felt a rush of relief. And then I blinked. "At your age? You don't look to be too much older than me."

"I am as old as you."

"Then…?" I was confused. I'd have to think on that later. "You could have told me earlier."

"I wouldn't have told you now if I could have found a way around it. Besides would you have believed me?"

Did I believe him now? He could be lying.

But to what end? He had gotten me out of San Andreas and there was no reason for him to show up without Dekim's soldiers if he meant to turn me over to them. "You should have told me."

"You know now." He held my gaze. "Listen to me Duo. I'll take care of you. I intend to get you out of here and safely to the U.S. There's nothing I won't do to make sure of that. I _will_ do it. If you don't believe anything else, believe that."

I did believe it. No one could doubt his sincerity. 

He reached for the baby. "Let me finish feeding her while you eat something yourself."

My arms tightened around her. "I can eat later."

"Actually you can't. I had to leave the jeep in the lower foothills. We have a long trek out of these hills. I want to get started right away." He took Iris and the food away from me. "Dig another can out of my pack and eat."

I hesitated then did as he said. I needed strength to get me through this. I wrinkled my nose at the first bite. No wonder Iris had been tentative. But the baby was now contentedly devouring the rations Heero was feeding her with surprising gentleness and skill. "She seems to have stood the trip well," he said. "She looks healthy."

"She's a survivor. Most babies are if you give them a chance."

He smiled down at the baby and wiped her mouth. "I like survivors." He looked up at me. "You don't look so bad yourself. I expected to have to have to lug you over the hills in a sling after four days on the run."

"You still might. Or I might be the one dragging you." I put the spoon back in the pack and tossed the empty ration can aside. "Let's go." I picked up Iris's blanket. "Give her to me. I'll carry her on my back."

He wrinkled his nose. "That's very unpleasant."

"What do you expect? I only had the chance to wash the blanket once. If it bothers you stay away from us."

"It bothers me. I have a delicate nose. But I can get used to anything." He picked up the backpack. "I think I can manage to stand you for a day or two."  
"Is that how long it will take? What about the helicopter?"

"You made good time, but Dekim is too close. We'll have to backtrack and go around to the north. The hills are too rough here to land a helicopter." He placed Iris in the sling and helped me put it on. "So I arranged a set-down about thirty miles from here. As soon as we get clear of these hills I'll call for a pickup."

He seemed so sure, almost casual. For the first time hope surged through me. I had never really given up, but at least now I could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

And I wasn't alone any longer.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I strode past him and out of the cave.

Heero raised a brow as he followed after me. "Me, evidently."


	7. Chapter 6

***Notes: Oi

***Notes:Oi! ^_^Since I have limited internet time and so much to say *cough* I want to thank those who are giving me the nice reviews. I'm also finding out that it's much easier for me to write humor than the more serious fic like this. @_@This also might be the last chapter I can get up for the rest of the weekend, I'll try though, to get maybe another up tomorrow as I will be making a lovely trip south for a family thing for 3-4 days. Maybe I'll be able to use my Aunt's laptop while I'm down there.

***I'd also like to say that this story seems to not even to be halfway done. *quirks* So I'll have to see how many of you guys I lose along the way. ^^;;;I may have to seriously reconsider the next time I decide to do another "serious" ficcie. Oh wait, I have one in planning…. *sweatdrops majorly* Anyhoo I'm done…

**Chapter 6**

_The rats._

Dekim jerked upright on his cot. "No."

No rats. Only a nightmare. He was sweating, shuddering. The odor of garbage and decay filled his senses.

Why wouldn't the rats go away?

He stood up and moved to the washstand and splashed water on his face. The rats had not come to plague him in a long time. There must be a reason.

The Maxwell boy. The nightmares had first come after the night he had escaped with Heero. When he found and killed Duo Maxwell, the rats would flee back into their holes.

He moved to the tent entrance and stared out into the darkness. Duo Maxwell was out there somewhere. Close. His instincts seldom failed him when he was this near a prey.

To hell with the darkness, he couldn't wait for morning.

"Wake up, Mueller!" he shouted. "Rouse the men. We leave in ten minutes."

***************

"We can stop here and rest for a few minutes." Heero shrugged off his backpack. "You'd better change the baby and give her some water."

"Of course I'll do that," I said bristling. "You don't have to tell me. We managed QUITE well without you."

  
"Gomen. I'm used to running things."

"You don't have to tell me that either." In the last eight hours he had demonstrated that characteristic time and time again. The decision had all been his, and he had made them easily and surely, pushing and prodding me every step of the way.

"You're annoyed with me." His brows lifted. "I'm surprised you didn't let me know earlier."

"I don't like being left out of decisions." I finished diapering Iris and held my hand out for the canteen. "But this is your area of expertise. It was clear you knew what you were doing. I would have been stupid to argue with you."

Heero's gazed focused on Iris. "She's a very good baby."

  
"Hai, she is." I said softening. I fed Iris a little more water and wiped her forehead and neck and then did the same for myself. Though the poor kid was hot and sweaty, and a heat rash was starting on her neck, she had let out only a few whimpers during the journey. Iris was a true miracle.

I tenderly brushed the baby's dark wispy hair away from her face. Iris smiled up at me and I couldn't resist giving her a quick hug. Heero stood up. "Are you rested enough to go on?"

"What would you do if I said I wasn't?"

"Tell you we have to keep pushing anyway."

"I thought as much." I said dryly as I put Iris into the sling. "I'm ready." My gaze went to the hills behind us. "Do you suppose they're close?"

"Closer than I'd like. I caught sight of them two hours after we started."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, startled.

"Why worry you? It was still dark and they were having trouble tracking. I did some weaving and lost them again." He frowned "But I didn't expect them to start before dawn. Dekim is pushing them hard." He started down the trail. "He wants you."

My lips tightened grimly. "Well he won't get me. How much longer do we have to go?"

"Another few hours before we're clear to radio for the helicopter. After that, maybe two hours to the rendezvous point."

Relief rushed through me. Not much longer. "Thank God." 

"Oh yes, and me, of course."

Good heavens, Heero was actually smiling at me.

I smiled back. "Of course."

***************

Dekim looked down at the tracks. "Two of them?"

Mueller nodded. "Joaquin says a man is with him. He must have joined him last night. It was only a single set of tracks before." He looked over his shoulder. "I'm being motioned. Do I have your permission to-"

"Go." 

He had help. The Maxwell boy had help.

Heero?

  
Yes, probably Heero; he had already demonstrated his skill in making his way through these hills. Now he was with the boy and if he was CIA, might be able to pull in more help.

If Dekim didn't reach them before they got out of the hills.

Mueller was back. "We've intercepted a radio signal."

"Where?" Dekim asked.

"Southwest. Six miles."

They had cleared the hills and were radioing for assistance, probably a helicopter.

Goddammit.

"_Get_ them."

***************

I staggered then caught myself before I could fall.

"Daijoubu?" Heero asked, not looking back.

No, it wasn't all right. Heero had increased the pace in the last hour and I was bone weary, hot, and I had a stitch in my side. "Can we go a little slower?"

"Iie."

"Why not? We're close, aren't we?"

"Close isn't home."

"Iris needs changing."

"She'll have to wait. Hurry."

The last word was so filled with tension my stride immediately accelerated. I glanced back over my shoulder. "What's wrong are they close?"

"They've always been close and they're bound to have picked up the signal."

Iris whimpered.

Poor kid. "How far do we have to go?"

"Another hour. And Dekim is probably no more than twenty minutes behind us."

"What if the helicopter isn't there?"

Heero didn't answer.

He didn't have to answer.

***************

In the valley below, the army-green helicopter shimmered in the twilight. It was a sight for my sore eyes.

My pace quickened in response to the hope leaping through me. "It's there. We're going-"

A bullet whistled past my ear.

"Shit." Heero grabbed my arm and pulled me down. I stumbled on a tuft of grass, caught off balance. A second shot. Kicking up dirt ahead of me.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Soldiers. Streaming over the hill.

Another shot.

I jerked as pain streaked along my side.

We reached the helicopter. Heero tossed me onto the floor and followed me.

"Up, Hilde." He shouted.

The door was still open as the helicopter rose jerkily. One of the soldiers leaped upward and caught hold. Heero ground his heel on the man's hand and he fell back to the ground.

Bullets sprayed the helicopter.

What if they hit the fuel tank?

Clear. We were high above the ground. Surely out of range. I looked at Heero. He nodded and I went limp with relief.

"You're bleeding." He was looking at my shirt. "You were hit?"

"My side. It's all right. Just a graze I think. I'll tend to- Oh my God."

Iris was too still.

I frantically shrugged off the sling. The blanket was stained with blood.

_Iris._

"Son of a bitch. They shot her. They shot Iris." The bullet that had grazed my side must have gone though the baby. "Goddamn baby killers."

"Is she dead.?"

"I'm trying to find out." Hip wound. Blood. Too much blood. "She's alive. Barely."

"Can we save her?"

"I don't know. I know first aid, but I'm not a doctor. Maybe. If I can stop the bleeding." I was working quickly. "You get her to a hospital."

"I can't risk you. We can't land until-"

"Don't tell me that. I don't care where you take us." I shot him a fierce glance. "You get me to a medical facility where I can get help for her."

Heero nodded. "I'll find a place."

"Son of a bitch." I had sworn to never open up to this kind of agony again. Yet here it was deeper than ever before. "We've gone through too much together. Don't leave me now, kid."

***************

"We're going to set down." Heero was back. "How is she?"

"Unconscious. I've managed to stop the bleeding, unless there's internal bleeding. Where are we?"

"Gulf of Mexico. I've located an aircraft carrier, the USS _Montana_. They'll have a doctor and full medical care. We should be down in ten minute." He headed back to the cockpit. "One way or another."

"What do you mean?"

"Aircraft carriers don't like uninvited guest. They're proving a little difficult and threatening to shoot us down." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

I cuddled Iris closer. I couldn't worry about anything but the baby. Let Heero take care of everything else.

***************

Dekim's fists clenched as he watched the lights of the helicopter fade in the distance.

He was gone. He had escaped him.

No. 

He drew a deep, ragged breath.

Heero had taken him away. He was probably already thinking that he was out of Dekim's reach.

He was wrong. There was always a way to bring down any prey. He would find him.

"Tell the radioman to get here, Mueller."

The boy had to die. And no one was ever out of reach.

***************

I leaned my head on my hands. I felt utterly helpless.

"The kid?" 

I looked up to see Heero standing beside me by Iris's bed. Dr. Anand did what he could." I said wearily. "He thinks there's a severed vertebra but he's not a specialist."

"Do you want me to get one for you?"

I smiled crookedly. "Are you going to kidnap a specialist and fly him to the aircraft carrier? Not a good idea. Captain Omni wasn't at all pleased to have us land here. You're right, we were lucky we weren't shot down on the approach."

"For all they knew, the helicopter could have been loaded with dynamite." He shrugged "It was the best I could do."

"It was the very best. Arigatou."

"You order. I obey." He squatted down before my chair. "You didn't answer me. Do you want me to go for a specialist?"

I shook my head. "That can wait. He wouldn't operate anyway until she's in better shape. She may not make it Heero."

"When will you know?"

"An hour, two. If she stabilizes…"

He looked at the baby in the makeshift crib they'd fashioned out of a hospital bed. "Did she wake up?"

"Iie." I tried to steady my voice. "She may never wake up again."

"I've got a hunch she will. She came this far. She survived Tenajo. I don't think she's meant to die."

"And she was meant to be shot?" I asked fiercely. "She's just a baby. God shouldn't let things like this-"

"Shh." His hand closed over mine. "Don't blame God. Blame Dekim."

"I do blame Dekim. I want to burn him at the stake."

"Entirely understandable." He released my hand, stood up, and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a minute. You need food, but I know I can't get you to eat. I'll bring coffee instead. It may be a long wait for us."

"You don't have to wait with me. There's nothing you can do."

He paused at the door. "I'm not doing it for you. I think Iris will know I'm here. I'll be right back."

***************

It was four hours later that Iris's vital signs stabilized. An hour later she opened her eyes.

"She's smiling." I whispered in wonder.

"I told you she wanted to live." Heero gently touched the baby's cheek. "Some things are meant to be."

"I'm in no mood for philosophy. I still don't know if she's ever going to be able to take her first step." But relief and joy were soaring within me. At least she was going to live.

"Dr. Anand said the best for spinal injuries is Dr. Sally Po at John Hopkins," Heero said. "I've arranged an air ambulance to take us there early tomorrow morning."

"You have?"

"And now, I believe it's time for you to eat." He wrinkled his nose. "And shower. Iris may have a relapse when she rouses enough to get a whiff of you."

"I'm surprised you bore with me all these hours." I said sarcastically.

"I consider it an exercise in discipline." He turned away from me. "Go shower. I'll send in the nurse to watch Iris and get you some food and fresh clothes."

"Matte."

He looked back at me.

"Quatre."

He shook his head. "I contacted our people in Mexico City. No word. But, if he's on foot, it's possible he hasn't reached the coast yet."

"Then I have to go back for him."

"Iie." The swift, harsh negative startled me. He hadn't used that tone with me since Tenajo.

"I won't abandon him."

"No one is suggesting you abandon him." He glanced at the baby. "Do you want to leave Iris before you know her condition?"

My gaze followed his to Iris. I was as torn as Heero had known I would be. "You know I don't. But I have to go. You can take Iris to-"

"You're handing her over to me? You scarcely let me touch her all the way here."

"I can't leave Quatre there."

"Dekim will get you as soon as you set foot back in Mexico."

"I'll go to the embassy and-"

"No, we'll talk about it later. Let me think about it. I may have a solution."

I watched him walk away. If he had a solution for this, he'd rival Solomon, I thought wearily. Then again he managed to get me out of Mexico and saved Iris by finding a medical facility. Maybe he could work this miracle too.

***************

Two hours later he knocked on the door of the tiny cabin I been chosen. "Come on. We're gong to the radio room. I've arranged to radio someone."

Frowning, I fell into step with him. "Who?"

"Chang Wufei. He's one of my contacts in Mexico City."

"CIA?"

"No, Chinese intelligence. They work with us on certain agendas."

"This agenda?"

"Most particularly this agenda." He glanced at me. "I can't let you go back, Duo. You'd make too many ripples."

"Good. What's wrong with telling the Mexican government they've been had?"

"No one can know about Tenajo yet. It might trigger a nasty backlash from Dekim."

"Not if the police catch him first."

"Not likely. He has informants in every phase of government. Besides, he's not alone. We can't be sure they won't act as soon as Dekim is brought down."

"Who would act?"

"Trieze Kushrenada., a terrorist located in Libya. And chances are you'd never reach the police. You'll be on Dekim's contract list. There's a lot of slime who want to curry favor with the good colonel." 

"All the more reason why I should get Quatre out of there."

He looked away from me. "He may be able to get himself out. Did you ever think of that? If he's managed to get away from Dekim, he's done pretty well as far."

"He doesn't know about Dekim."

"Is he smart?"

"Of course he's smart. Very smart. What does that have to do with anything?"

"After Tenajo, do you think that he'd trust anyone? You didn't. You woke up in that hospital bristling and ready to take on everyone in sight."

"He might go to the police and you said that was almost a death sentence."

"But first he has to get through the hills."

"Then I should go and help him. I've been through them. I know them now."

"But it would be a risk."

"I don't have any choice."

"Yes, you do." He paused. "You could let Wufei find him. I could have him do a discreet search and, when he finds him, smuggle him out of the country."

He had said when, not if, and the distinction gave me the first hope I'd had since Dekim had told me Quatre was dead. "Could he do that? Could he find him?"

"I'll radio him to start the search now. In a few days he could be across the border."

It seemed too good to be true, so it probably was.

"How do you know that he'll find him?"

"I don't but if he's alive, we stand an 80% chance. I've seen Wufei work. He can't find a needle in a hay stack but he comes close."

Eighty percent. I wanted it to be a hundred percent. "That's not good enough."

"That's seventy five percent chance better than your chances alone." He added bluntly. "Don't be a baka. If you go back, you'll get him killed. Wufei will get him out."

I stared at him in helpless frustration. What he said made sense but I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to be hundreds of miles away from Quatre with my hands tied. "You could call this Wufei and I could meet him, help him to-"

Heero was shaking his head.

"Why not?!"

"Because if you go back, I won't tell Wufei to help you. You'll be on your own." He paused. "And your friend will be dead."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You're bluffing."

He grimaced. "You're right. I couldn't let you go off alone. But I'm telling the truth about your friend's chances. The sooner I get Wufei on it, the sooner you'll see your friend again. Think about it."

What he suggested went against every instinct. Quatre had always been there for me like a brother. I had to go to him.

And if I did, I might cause his death.

"I'll give him a few days," I said finally. "If he hasn't located him by that time, I'm going down there myself."

"It might take longer than that… if he's alive."

"Stop _saying_ that. He is alive. Quatre is one of the strongest guys I know. He's not dead, I tell you."

"Easy."

I drew a deep breath. "Call him right away."

A few minutes later he was sitting at the radio, putting on the headphones. After a short wait a slightly deep voice with the faintest hint of an accent crackled over the line. "It's about time. I've been waiting for you to call, you ugly son of a bitch. Are you ready for a pickup?" Wufei said amusedly.

I felt a little ripple of surprise. The cheerful voice was completely free of fear I had sensed in everyone else who had encountered Heero, and the words were certainly irreverent.

"Iie, I radioed Hilde." Heero said. "We're on our way out now."

"How did Tenajo go?"

"Not what we expected. Bad."

"You're not going to tell me more?"

"Not now."

"Don't close me out. I want them as much as you do."

"I can't talk now."

"You blew your cover with Dekim?"

Heero glanced at me. "In a manner of speaking."

"Then why didn't you call me?"

"I have another job for you. We think there's a man in the hills near Tenajo. Dekim is probably looking for him. You have to find him first."

There was a silence. "Just as long as it isn't a woman. I don't like killing women Heero."

"No problem. Just find him and get him safely out of the country."

Wufei sighed. "Nasty job. It would be easier to kill him. How quick?"

"Very. Dekim has been delayed, but my disappearance may push him to more."

"And the man is important?"

"Get him out Wu."

"It will be done, your royal gargoyleship. Where do you want him delivered?"

  
"I'll be in touch. He's Quatre Raberba Winner. About five foot one, nineteen, blonde hair and sea green eyes."

"Great. Do you know how likely it is I'll find anyone like that here? Now, if he had a face like yours he might have a chance."

"But if he did have a face like mine, he wouldn't have a chance. Give the guy a break."

A slight smile was curving his lips, and that's when I realized he was joking. The idea of humor connected with that face and intimidating demeanor was totally out of place. But I had found on the journey that many things about Heero were not as they seemed. And what was so horrible about his face anyway? Heero was actually very beautiful when he wasn't glaring you down. I tried to hide my blush. I didn't just think that, did I?

"He may not be willing to cooperate. He'd be a baka to trust me if he's on the run. Can you give me anything to reassure him?" I could hear Wufei say.

"I'll ask." Heero looked at me.

I thought for a moment. I smirked, "Tell him to tell Quatre: _Shinigami ga jigoku kara mai modotte kita ze!_"

Heero raised a brow at me. 

"Nani?" I tried to look innocent. "It's an old inside joke. He'll understand."

Heero repeated the line.

"Ye~ah… then I'll be on my way." Wufei said.

Heero turned to me. "Satisfied?"

I wasn't satisfied, but Wufei seemed confident if bizarre. "I'll give Wu-man a few days."

"Arigatou." Heero said to the radio operator as he removed the headphones. He took my arm and urged me toward the door. "Those few days will at least allow you to get the baby up to John Hopkins and into Sally Po's hands. You'd better check on Iris and then get to bed. The air ambulance will be here pretty early."

I nodded wearily. "I was going to do that anyway. Would you stop giving me orders already? Geez."

"I said I would take care of you." He said quietly. "I meant it."

I went ahead of him down the narrow corridor. "Just take care of Quatre. G'nite Heero."

"Oyasumi."

***************

Heero watched Duo disappear around the corner. He had avoided the confrontation but only temporarily. He wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating Duo. Right now, he was absorbed with worry about the baby and Quatre, but Heero would have to walk very carefully.

_Take care of Quatre._

He wished he could promise him that.

Lies and deceit and manipulation, press the right button, shade the truth, and twist reality. God I was tired of it all.

But it was the coin he dealt in and he would spend it whenever necessary. 

He went back to the radio room to call Wufei again.

***************

"She looks like she did in that room in San Andreas," I whispered as I looked down at Iris. "All those tubes…"

"Sally says they're necessary. She needs nutrients. She lost a lot of blood," Heero said. "And you said you liked and trusted her."

I nodded. "But I wanted her to operate right away. I want to know she's going to be all right."

"She said she's got a good chance."

"I want to _know._ I don't want to wait another week." I bent down and brushed my lips across her forehead. "She's going to fix you up, kid. Just be patient."

"She's sedated and out of it. You're the one who's impatient." Heero gently guided me from the room. "Let's go to the waiting room. We have to talk."

My gaze flew to his face. "Did Sally tell you something she didn't tell me?"

"Iie." He pushed me into a chair. "She's a smart woman. She wouldn't have dared."

I relaxed. "You scared me."

"This situation scares me." He sat down beside me. "I know you asked Sally to find you a bed here." he paused. "You can't stay Duo."

I stiffened. "The hell I can't."

He shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"No one knows I'm here."

"They probably will soon. It's just a matter of time. Dekim has established network here. You'll have to go underground. I'm going to take you to a safe house."

"I won't leave Iris."

"Would you rather see her dead?" he asked bluntly. "That's what will happen. You're a witness. Dekim wants your head. As long as you're close-by, Iris is in danger. Is that what you want?"

"You know that's not what I want."

"I've called headquarters and arranged a guard for Iris at the hospital just in case Dekim tries to use her to get to you. But you're the one he wants. If he doesn't hear you hovering over her, he may think that she's not important to you. Without you, Iris is much more safe." He added softly. "Give her a chance Duo. She's got a long way to go."

I could feel tears sting my eyes. "He might not find her."

"Do you want to take that chance?"

"She'll be all alone."

"She'll be well guarded and besides, Iris is a heartbreaker. The nurses will be hovering over her every second of the day."

"But I want to-" But I couldn't do what I wanted, not if I wanted Iris to be safe. I hadn't wanted Heero to be right dammit. "I want reports everyday. Do you hear me? And I want to talk to Sally every other day. And she better be safe or I'll cut your throat Heero."

"She'll be safe. I give you my word. Trust me."

I did trust him, I realized. Where had it come from? The trek in the hills, the night he had stayed with Iris after the operation? However it had happened, the trust was there. I stood up. "I want to say good-bye to her."

He nodded. "Ten minutes? I have to make a few arrangements."

It was stupid to say good-bye, I thought as I looked down at Iris. The kid didn't even know I was there. "I'll be back." I whispered. "They're going to take good care of you but I have to leave for a little while. I'll be thinking of you." I blinked hard to keep back the tears. "You think about me too. I know you'll be pretty occupied with all these doctors and nurses, but remember I'm the one you came with."

I couldn't take anymore. I strode blindly out the door and into Heero.

He handed me a handkerchief. "Daijoubu?"

"No." I wiped my eyes. " Get me the hell outta here. Where are we going?

"To the airport. I have a helicopter waiting."

"And then?"

"Atlanta.

"To your blasted safe house?"

He shook his head. "We're in transition. I need to see a friend who may help us. And the safe house isn't set-up yet."

Transition. My life seemed to be nothing else since the day I arrived in Tenajo. "I'm not going to stay in any safe house unless you bring Quatre there."

"Okay I promise." Heero opened the door for me. "The minute we find him."


	8. Chapter 7

And Then You Die…

** **

Chapter 7

"You've found no sign of him?" Trieze asked.

"That's not quite true." Dekim said. "My men said one of the bullets hit him. We're checking the hospitals for anyone who fits his or the baby's descriptions."

"What else?"

"Heero himself is a lead. He went back to Tenajo before leaving Mexico. Does that suggest anything to you?"

There was a silence. "Hai."

"Then we have an idea where he's headed, don't we?"

"But will he take him there?"

"Oh yes, most definitely. He's not going to let him out of his sight until its confirmed. I've sent Odin Lowe to take care of the matter. He's leaving Rome right away. Don't worry, we'll find Duo Maxwell before he can interfere." 

"He's already interfered. He's in our way and you are doing nothing about it."

"I'm doing a great deal about it. I'll call you when I know more." Dekim hung up the phone. Trieze was nervous and this time Dekim couldn't blame him. Time was of the essence, and he had hoped to locate the boy much more quickly. With any luck, Odin would get him and make the kill in time.

But Dekim seldom relied on luck. A backup plan was always wise.

If Mohammed wouldn't come to the mountain…

He smiled.

Trieze would appreciate the proverb.

***************

It was almost noon when the helicopter landed at a deserted airport several miles north of Atlanta. There was no tower; one runway and only a few hangers dotted the scraggly landscape. It was the middle of the day, but no one was in sight.

"What is this airport?" I asked as I jumped from the helicopter.

"It doesn't have a name." Heero grabbed his knapsack and followed me out. "It's used by a few legitimate private pilots and a lot more illegitimate ones."

"Drugs?"

"Maybe. It takes money to buy this kind of privacy. I don't ask." He turned to the pilot. "Stay with him. There's supposed to be a car parked behind the hanger for me."

I shivered as I watched him walk away. It was actually warmer here than in Maryland, but I felt chilled anyway.

Something heavy settled on my shoulders. The pilot, Hilde, had given me her flight jacket. "Arigatou."

She smiled. "You're welcome. I guess you've been a little too busy to worry about a jacket."

"I guess I was. You sure do get around. You're the pilot who picked us up in Mexico."

She nodded. "I've been put at Heero's disposal for the next month or so."

"Is that usual?"

She shook her head. "Not with all the budget cuts lately."

"Heero didn't introduce us. I'm Duo Maxwell."

"Hilde Schbeiker."

"I suppose you're used to picking up people in unusual circumstances. You're CIA?"

She nodded.

My gaze went back to Heero. "Have you worked with him before?"

She nodded, and then made a face. "The last time I screwed up, and I thought he was going to break my neck. I was surprised when he radioed me to pick him up this time."

"Maybe he realizes you're a good pilot."

"Well, I could do without the honor. He scares me shitless."

"Does he?" I had almost forgotten how intimidating I had found Heero at first. "Have you known him long?"

"Two years. Libya and then Mexico."

Heero had mentioned Libya in connection with Dekim's partner, Trieze.

"The car's here," Heero had reappeared. "Take off, Hilde. We don't need you any longer."

Hilde nodded. "Sayonara, Duo."

"Your jacket." I slipped it off and handed it to her. "Thanks again."

He grinned. "My pleasure."

Heero took my elbow and urged me forward. "Did you find out anything interesting about me from Hilde?"

I didn't bother to deny that I had tried. "No, except that she was in Libya with you."

"Too bad. She may have been your last chance. You won't find many people in my circle as loose-lipped. The CIA has lowered its standards drastically of late."

We had reached a beige sedan parked by the road.

"I don't want to question people like Hilde about what's going on. I want you to tell me."

"When I know myself." He opened the passenger door for me and got in the driver's seat. "There are clothes for both of us in the trunk. I radioed ahead and told them we'd need clothes and new identification. We're staying at a motel north of town while here. Your name is Toshihiko Seki."[1]

False names. New identification. It was all so unsettling. "I don't like it."

"Then we'll get you another later."

I shook my head. He didn't understand. It wasn't the name. I was beginning to feel as if everything was drifting out from under me. Quatre and Iris had slipped away from me. I didn't even have my camera.

And it was my fault.

I'd been so worried and exhausted, I'd let myself coast along, letting Heero make his arrangements with Chang Wufei and Iris's doctors, and now he was trying to arrange my own life. "We need to talk, Heero."

He didn't speak for a moment as he studied me. Then he glanced away and started the car. "Okay, no problem."

************

By the time we had driven to the Inn, it was close to eight. The motel was an older kind, with separate units, and after checking in we had to drive a short distance to our quarters.

Heero locked the door behind him. "It's their penthouse unit. The penthouse is just a loft. Not as grand as it sounds but convenient. Bed and bath upstairs, the same setup down here together with a kitchenette, dining area."

"It's fine." I said. "I don't care. I just need a shower. Do I go upstairs or stay here?"

"Upstairs."

I picked up my suitcase and headed for the curving stairs.

"I'll carry it for you."

"I'm not helpless." But I was feeling a bit powerless and frustrated, and I needed this little bit of control.

"God forbid I infringe on your independence." He turned away. "I need a shower myself."

In the bedroom I opened the suitcase and found two pairs of black pants, a black leather jacket, a couple shirts that were either blacks or white, black boots, and five pairs of black boxers. Amazingly, everything fit. It shouldn't have surprised me. The clothes Heero had brought me in the hospital had fit me too. He had a good eye.

A black leather wallet was at the bottom of the suitcase. Inside it had two hundred dollars in cash, three credit cards, and a driver's license with my picture and Toshihiko Seki's name. How had they managed to put this all together so quickly?

I grabbed the pajamas out of the suitcase and headed for the shower.

The warm water felt wonderful as it beat against me. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. Some of the tension began to ease out of me. I had been coiled up as tight as a spring, and that didn't promise well for clear thinking. It was good to be cocooned there away from Heero.

I stayed in the shower a long, long time.

***************

"Heero, I've had news from Interpol."Relena said when she answered her portable phone. "The word is Odin Lowe is heading for New York."

Heero tensed. "Odin Lowe?"

"Dekim has used him before."

"So have a lot of others."

"I just thought you should know. He could connect to anywhere from New York."

Including Atlanta.

"You should get him to a safe house." Relena said.

"I can't dammit. Not yet. Keep me informed."

He hung up the phone. Odin Lowe. Not good.

He didn't have to be heading for Atlanta. Dekim might not have made the connection.

Heero couldn't take the chance. He had to know more.

***************

Heero was standing by the microwave in the kitchenette when I came down the stairs. He was wearing jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt and his normally messy hair was wet. He slammed the microwave door shut. "I hope you like chicken. I had them stock the freezer with frozen dinners. But it's all chicken."

"Most frozen dinners taste the same." I sat down on the stool at the breakfast bar. "I need answers, Heero."

"The chicken will be seven minutes." He glanced at my towel-wrapped head. "You have time to go dry your hair."

"There wasn't a blow-dryer."

"How remiss of them. Any other omissions?"

"Imagination. Not that I'm completely complaining, black happens to be my favorite color."

"It's standard procedure, navy blue or black and everything wash-and-wear. Anything else?"

"A camera. I want my camera."

"I can't help you. I didn't see it after I took you to San Andreas. I assume Dekim has it."

"But I _need_ it." I knew I was being unreasonable, but it was the final frustration for me. Without my camera I felt depleted… lost.

"Do you want me to pick up another one for you?"

_Pick up_? You didn't just pick up a camera. You had to examine and look into and get the feel of it. "I've had that camera for years. It's my favorite."

"Gomen, I'm not going back for it. Do you want me to replace it?"

"No, I'll do it myself." I went back onto the attack. "I want answers. What you've told me about Tenajo has to be just the tip of the iceberg."

"Not now. You already have me at your mercy, so there's no reason for you to push. You're exhausted."

I _was_ exhausted and my mind felt so blurry, I didn't know if I'd comprehend anything he told me anyway. Maybe I'd cope better after dinner. Heero was being vague, and I was relieved not to have to be on the attack for a while. "You're not off the hook." I took off the towel and began to dry my hair.

"I see you're making due without a blow dryer. That adaptability must have come in handy in some of the places you've had to go. L2 isn't long on beauty salons these days."

I stopped in mid-motion. "How did you know I was in L2?"

"Dekim requested a report on you and your friend when you were sighted headed for Tenajo. He wanted to make sure you weren't with an agency that would bring difficulties down on his head." He opened the refrigerator door. "So I tried to convince him he should let me come after you and terminate any threat."

I stiffened.

He took out a carton of milk and set it on the bar. "He wouldn't let me do it. I realize now he wanted to let the disease kill you."

"You would have killed us?"

He shook his head. "If I could have done it without blowing my cover, I'd have warned you and tried to get you out of the area without Dekim knowing."

"And if it would have blown your cover?"

He got out two glasses from the cabinet. "Then I would have had a decision to make."

"But you blew your cover at San Andreas."

"It was a calculated risk, and by that time I'd found out a lot more about the operation." He poured milk into the two glasses. "I'd been trying to work into Dekim's confidence for over two months. I _needed_ that information."

The passion in that last sentence caused my eyes to widen. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So you'll know how important stopping Dekim is to me." He looked straight into my eyes. "If I'd needed to do it, I would have killed you and your friend."

"Nothing should be that important."

"Tell that to the people who died at Tenajo."

"But you didn't save Tenajo."

"Iie." His lips tightened. "No, I didn't." He turned his back on me and reached up into the cabinet.

He was feeling guilt, I realized suddenly. Terrible guilt. Underneath that harsh exterior, he was a human after all. The knowledge came as a shock.

He brought down two plates from the shelf. "Take the milk into the dining room. I'll bring the chicken."

His face was once more without expression. I got off the stool and picked up the glasses. "Frozen dinners seem more suited to the kitchen."

"My mother taught me that dinner should always be served in the dining room. It's a habit that I can't shake." He paused. "And yes, I did have a mother. I didn't crawl out from under a rock."

I found myself smiling. "I was thinking more along the lines of a metal egg from an alien planet."

He blinked. "My God, I believe you're joking with me."

I had been joking. Incredible. Not only had I found humor in the moment, but I also felt enough at ease with Heero to indulge in it. "A temporary lapse."

He made a face. "Don't worry. I won't grow on you. Too many rough edges."

Rough edges, an alarming perceptiveness, and an almost fanatic intensity- he possessed all those things. He had shown a moment of weakness, but he had recovered with lightning swiftness. I had been crazy to think he was vulnerable in any way.

"Sit down. I'll get the silverware." Heero was behind me setting the steaming plates on the table. "It's not very nourishing but it's food and you haven't had anything to eat since yesterday. I heard your stomach growl in the car on the way from the airport."

"It's rude of you to mention it."

"It would be ruder not to feed you."

I _was_ hungry. Yet, there was something wrong with that reality. When you were worried or depressed, your body should just stop being beset by basic needs.

He was back with the silverware and napkins. He sat down opposite me. "Dig in."

I picked up my fork. "Is that what your mother would have said?"

He shook his head. "Part of my rough edges. Some things are ingrained, others we learn for ourselves."

But his table manners were impeccable, I noticed. "Is your mother still alive?"

He shook his head. "She died a long time ago. So did my father. What about yours?"

"Didn't know 'em. I lived in an orphanage for most of my early years, they kicked me out and I found others ways to make ends meet." I fidgeted a bit. "That's when I ran into Quatre. I was fifteen at the time. He let me stay at his house."

"No problems?"

I grimaced. "A few. I wasn't the most stable of kids at the time. I gave him a pretty rough time, but we worked things out. I really hated leaving Tyngate."

"Tyngate," he repeated. "It sounds like an estate."

I shook my head. "It was just a big house on the river, nothing too fancy. That's where Quatre lived at the time."

His gaze was fixed intently on my face. "But you loved it?"

"Sure. I miss it sometimes. But Quatre was right, we had to move on, he was getting involved with Trowa. Its just wrong to cling to the past like that."

"Tell me about this Tyngate."

"Why?"

"Just curious."

"I told you, it wasn't much, comfortable as hell though. Quatre had a pier and a boat. I don't know why it meant so much to me." I looked down at my plate. "Quatre and I had wonderful times when we were there. We swam and sailed, a tree house to just sit and talk in. It was the first time in a long while I had felt truly safe. It was like no matter how complicated or weird the outside world became, Tyngate stayed sort of safe… and innocent."

"Innocence seems to be at a premium these days. You guys should have kept the house."

I shook my head. "Quatre hadn't really gotten into his business thing, there wasn't much insurance. Quatre had a hard enough time trying to support the two of us. He would be the closest I have to a brother. No, he was right to have sold the house." I hadn't thought about Tyngate for a long time. I felt a sudden wave of nostalgia. "Every kid should be able to grow up in a place like Tyngate. It should be written in the Constitution."

"Write your congressman. They're always ready to embrace anything that touches kids. It's politically correct. Drink your milk. That's politically correct too."

I was glad for the change of subject. Memories such as Tyngate would be connected to Quatre and they sharpen the anxiety I was feeling. "I'm drinking it. I told you to stop giving me orders."

"I wouldn't want to ruin my image by being polite."

The words were said without a smile, and it took me a minute to realize that it was meant to be funny. "I wouldn't worry about that."

"But I do. All the time." He picked up his milk. "It's necessary." He drank deeply before lowering the glass. "Perception is everything. It's what makes the-- Why are you laughing?"

Without thinking I took my napkin and wiped his upper lip. "You have a mustache. You remind me of Trowa. He always end up with--" The thought of Trowa reminded me of Quatre's situation. How could I have forgotten it for even a short time?

"You're close to Trowa Barton?"

"Trowa's always been kind to me. I like him very much." I became aware of the tension that hadn't been there a minute earlier. "Why do you ask?"

"What about anyone else? Who else are you close to?"

"You sound like Dekim. He was giving me the third degree too."

"Dekim's reasons and my reasons aren't the same."

"I hope not. He was interested in any next of kin who might bother him if he cut my throat."

"And I'm interesting in keeping you from getting your throat cut. Do you have an ex that you keep in contact with?"

"No." I wrinkled my nose. "It was only maybe a nine month fling. One big mistake. Quatre warned me that he was a loser, but I didn't believe him."

"Why not?"

"My hormones got in the way. He was a musician. He was gorgeous, sexy, and he could even hold a conversation if it didn't get too deep. He didn't like deep." I sipped my milk. "And he had no use for fidelity. He was sleeping around two months after we got together."

"But it lasted nine months."

I shrugged. "I'm stubborn. I didn't want to admit I'd made another mistake. So I tried to make it work. But there wasn't anything there to build on."

"Another mistake?"

"I'm not perfect like Quatre."

"Tell me about your other friends. Anyone special?"

"No I travel a lot. It's hard to maintain friendships when you're always missing anniversaries and birthdays and—Why?"

"Where do you live?"

"I sublet an apartment in New Orleans."

"Any neighbors that you're fond of?"

"I like all my neighbors."

"No one in particular?"

I shook my head.

"Pets?"

"You shouldn't have pets if you're not there to take care of them."

"So you have no one but Quatre and Trowa?"

I frowned. "I have friends, lots of friends. All over the world."

"I'm sure you have. Don't be so defensive. I'm just trying to determine her you're vulnerable."

"I'm not vulnerable." Sudden uneasiness overcame me. "Am I? Trowa?"

"Maybe. Your New Orleans apartment is already under surveillance, but after dinner I want you to give me Barton's address and phone number. I'll arrange protection for them."

"Done. But I don't think we have to worry right away. Trowa went to visit his sister Catherine; Quatre had mentioned something to me about them going on a camping trip. They're suppose to be gone the three weeks Quatre and I were suppose to be in Mexico."

"How accessible?"

"Not unless you're a grizzly bear. Trowa's really into nature and animals, he's real hard-core. They'll park his car at a ranger station and live off the land. He's really good with wild animals, he has a knack for it."

"Would he have a radio?"

"No, but probably some flares."

"You'd better give me the location of the ranger station so I can put a man there to meet them when they come out."

"Good idea." I leaned back in my chair. "Now tell me what we're doing in Atlanta, Heero."

"I told you. I need help from a friend."

"What kind of help?"

He didn't answer.

"What kind of help?"

He scowled. "You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"Why should I? It's my life. It's Quatre's life. You've been very nice to me, but I don't want protection if it means not knowing what's going on. I can't function like that. Everything has to be clear and out in the open. You've not been telling me everything, have you?"

"No." he said. "I can't tell you everything. Not yet."

"When?"

"I'm not sure."

"That's not good enough, Heero. I've let you push me and prod me and run the show. From now on, if you want me to cooperate, you cooperate with me."

He studied my face then slowly nodded. "Okay. But I don't know everything myself yet. It would be guesswork. Let me go see my friend and we'll talk afterward."

"I want to go with you."

"He's a very sensitive person. I'm not going to ask him to break some rules. He may not go along with me if someone else is there." He picked up the dishes and carried them to the sink. "Don't worry, I don't intend to skip out on you. I'll be back tomorrow evening."

I hadn't been worried about that. "And I'm suppose to sit here and twiddle my thumbs?"

"Gomen."

So was I, but it was obvious I wasn't going to get any more concessions from him. "And do you promise me that you'll be honest with me?" 

"Would you believe me if I gave you my word?"

"Yes."

He cocked his head to the side. "I'm honored. I promise you I'll tell you all about my meeting when I get back tomorrow evening."

The words still held a note of evasion. "The truth?"

"The truth." He grimaced. "You're very good at probing. It's no wonder you've won so many awards."

I looked at him in surprise. "You know a lot about me. Dekim said you weren't able to get much information."

"I didn't want him to know anymore than he had to." He shrugged. "I've admired your work for some time. I liked the pictures you took of the bandit in Somalia."

"So did I." I stood up. "Which reminds me, I have to call Une and tell her I can't complete my article for his magazine."

He shook his head."

"She had deadlines. It wouldn't be responsible to just leave her hanging. Besides, she can be a pretty scary lady when she wants ta be."

"Let it go for a while. We don't want any mention of Tenajo to leak out yet."

"I wouldn't tell her about--" Oh, well, they wouldn't expect to hear from me yet anyway. "I'll write Quatre's address on the phone pad and then I'm going to bed. I'm so tired, I'm about to fall into a coma."

"I'm surprised you lasted this long." He began washing dishes. "You've been through a hell of a lot in the last week. You handled it well."

I felt a rush of surprise and pleasure. "I guess we do what we gotta do."

"I guess we do." He added solemnly, "When we're not perfect like brother Quatre."

Was he teasing me? I wonder in astonishment. It was hard to tell. "He is perfect. Well, almost."

"And you're chopped liver?"

He _was_ teasing me. I smiled as I wrote Quatre's address and phone number on the pad. "Hell no. I'm a damn good photographer and a magnificent human being."

"I noticed you put the profession first."

My smile faded. "So?"

"Nothing. I found it interesting."

He was digging, trying to get at what he deemed the truth. "Back off, Heero."

He nodded. "Gomen. I have an analytical mind too. It's automatic for me to probe."

Had I been under the microscope all evening? He certainly had asked a lot of questions and not all of them concerning my close associates. For some reason the idea stung. "Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi, Duo."

I started up the stairs. I had almost reached the loft when I looked back at him. Heero washing dishes was a bizarre sight. And yet every movement was precise and clean, just like the way he had killed the guard in San Andreas.

He looked up suddenly. "Nani?"

I searched for something to say. "You do that very well. Did your mother teach you?"

He nodded. "She always told me to clean up after myself. It's smart. A clean deck makes life much smoother."

Everything has to be smooth.

He had said those words at the hospital.

But I had spoiled his careful plans and a man had died. He had been angry with me; angry he had been forced to kill. "Go to bed." He ordered. "I'll be gone when you wake up. There are eggs and bacon for breakfast. Don't leave the room. Don't open the door for anyone. Do you understand? Not for anyone."

"Yesh, I heard you the first time. When will you be back?"

"As soon as I have what I need."

I turned and started up the stairs.

"Duo."

I looked back at him.

"There's no way you're chopped liver."

***************

"I can't do this Heero." Zech Marquise said. "I work with a team. Someone would know."

"Give them the day off."

"Why can't you go through the regular channels?"

"There would be reports and reports on reports. I don't want any leaks."

"You could do it yourself."

"I don't have the facilities."

Zechs bit his lower lip. "I don't like this. It's too scary."

"You like it. You're practically salivating to get started."

"So I'm curious."

"You owe me."

"Shit." Zechs ran a hand through his long, blonde hair. "Why don't you take my firstborn child instead?"

"You don't have any kids."

"Well, its not that Noin and I haven't tried. We're trying this new hormone therapy that may work. When do you need this?"

"By tonight."

"Impossible."

"Do as much as you can. I need something, anything."

Zechs scowled. "Then get out of here so I can get started."

"I'll wait."

"Nothing like a little pressure."

Heero smiled. "Exactly."

***************

[1] – If you didn't already know, Toshihiko Seki is Duo's Japanese V.A. which is why I used it for his false name. ^_~

***Note:I did seem to not use Duo's actual past or Heero's for that matter. But why I did it this way will become evident later on. You'll also probably notice I turned this into a 6xN pairing, so for those who like him being a yaoi boy… gomen, it just works for me better this way. 


	9. Chapter 8

And Then You Die…

** **

Chapter 8

What in the hell was he going to tell Duo?

Heero's hands tightened on the steering wheel. He'd thought it would be bad but not this bad. He'd had no idea Dekim was so close. He should lie to him. The Company would say he had no real need to know, and he was good at lies. They came easily these days.

He didn't want to lie to him. He was sick to his soul of lies.

And he liked Duo Maxwell. He was such a complicated combination of fragility and strength, uncertainty and boldness. He liked his guts and his honesty and even the stubbornness that was causing him so much trouble.

And he had made him a promise.

To hell with "need to know", he would tell him what he could. It probably didn't matter anyway.

Not now.

***************

"Well?" I asked as soon as Heero walked into the room. "You took long enough."

"I did some driving around. I wanted to make sure I wasn't being followed." He headed for the kitchen. "Do you want coffee?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No, I want you to talk to me."

"Well, I need it." He measured the coffee and water into the machine and turned it on. "Why do they always have these two cup jobs in hotel rooms?" [1]

"Where did you go today Heero?"

"I called Zechs Marquise with the CDC and had him meet me at the center."

"And?"

"I brought him the money I took from the poor box at the church to analyze."

After everything that had happened, I had forgotten about the money.

"When Dekim sent his men into Tenajo for the cleanup, we had orders to go through town and collect any twenty-peso bills we found. They were put in specially insulated bags and later burned. We evidently missed the poor box then. Dekim will be most upset."

"Pesos?"

"Counterfeit pesos printed with a very special ink. According to Zechs, a genetically mutated anthrax bacteria was added to the lilac ink."

"Anthrax." I whispered. "My God."

"What do you know about it?"

"Just what I learned while I studied medicine for a few years. Most people get it from handling infected material like leather or animal furs."

"It usually occurs as coetaneous, intestinal, or pulmonary infection. The kind released in Tenajo was pulmonary. It affects the lungs and pleura and the mutation causes it to kill within six hours of contact. But it didn't act on everyone in the same way. From the condition of the corpses, it was clear some died within minutes, while others took hours."

The little boy in the store looked struck down, as if by lightning. "But everyone died."

"Hai, but the time difference bothered Dekim. I think that's why he's delayed going forward. But he's close. Too close."

"There's a serum for anthrax. It usually works very well."

"Not for this mutated version."

"No cure?"

"Working twenty-four hours a day for the next eight months might produce one. We're not going to be given that luxury." 

"And Dekim used money to kill all those people." I whispered.

"Can you think of a better way? Who's going to refuse money? Tenajo was a poor little village. When Dekim's men drove into town and distributed the pesos to everyone, they probably thought they had died and gone to heaven."

"And then they did die." It was hard for me to comprehend such calculated malice. It was like those twisted people who laced Halloween candy with poison and gave it to children. "How could Dekim's men pass out the money without harming themselves?"  
"They put the money in specially sealed see-through plastic envelopes. It took almost as long to develop those envelopes as it did to mutate the anthrax."

Like the envelopes he'd taken out of the poor box.

"Was your briefcase specially sealed too?"

He nodded. "But I wasn't worried. Dekim wasn't afraid to let the public health team into Tenajo. He'd tried to pick up every peso, but there's no way he would have chanced one of those officials dying of anthrax. It had to have had a built-in dissipation system. I think its life must have been at least twelve hours, because Dekim was sure you and your friend had been infected."

"The root…" I said numbly. "The priest kept saying 'the root' before he died. I thought he had been talking about poison. He was talking about the money."

"The root of all evil? Possibly."

"What does Dekim want that would make him do this?"

"I'm not sure what the crazy bastard wants." The coffee was done and he poured a cup.

"You have to know. You worked for him."

"He wants to use it as a blackmail tool, so money is an obvious answer. And power. But I think there's more." He sipped his coffee. "He's a wild card."

"He's like some cartoon monster."

"Don't even think it," he said soberly. "He's very intelligent, or he wouldn't have been able to establish his network. Dekim's lab developed the anthrax and Trieze was handling the counterfeit branch of the operation. Trieze thinks he's in control, but I wouldn't bet on it."

"What about this Trieze?"

"He's an international terrorist currently stationed in Libya. He's doing it for politics. He's been trying to pressure the United States for the past year to influence China to release some prisoners."

Shock jolted through me. "The United States."

"I told you that Tenajo was just a test."

"You didn't tell me that the United States would be the target."

"I think you suspected it."

Maybe I had, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. "You're sure?"

"Eighteen months ago a set of twenty dollar plates disappeared from the Denver Treasury."

"But I've heard our currency is impossible to reproduce."

"They could come close enough and the setup would be just like Tenajo. Who's going to check if money falls from heaven?"

"What city?"

He shook his head. "I don't even know if it's been decided."

"We have to warn someone."

"Who do you want to call? The president? If he contacts Mexico, he's going to be assured Tenajo was decimated by cholera. The CDC will confirm it."

"But you have the contaminated money."

"That's another drawback. Even if the president accepts the fact that there's danger, he can't make a public announcement. To make the public suspicious of our currency would send the economy crashing. Can you imagine what would happen to the stock market?" His hands tightened on the cup. "That would please Trieze. It would accomplish his purpose without the bother of unleashing the anthrax."

"So you're going to chance letting more people die?" I asked in disbelief.

"I didn't say that. We just have to know more before we send out any warnings."

"And how are we going to find out any more? You can't go back to Dekim."

"I could if I brought him your head."

I stepped back.

"I was joking." He said roughly.

I glared at him. "How am I supposed to know? Would it hurt to smile?"

"Maybe."

"What about your CIA friends? Doesn't one of them have access to someone in the White House who could help?"

"Relena Darlian. She's deputy director of the CIA and went to school with the president. I called her from John Hopkins and told her what I suspected."

"Is she going to do something?"

"Not yet. I told her that I needed more time. I didn't get an argument. She doesn't want to have to tell the president how little we can do. She said to contact her if we needed her."

"Sounds like we do need her."

"I've every intention of calling her to tell her Zechs confirmed the anthrax."

"And to do something official about it."

He stared at me impassively. "Have a cup of coffee."

"I don't want your damn coffee." I wanted to strangle him. I drew a deep breath and tried to steady my voice. "Call this Relena and tell her to call the White House. I won't carry around this responsibility."

"Then ignore it. I'll carry it." He finished his coffee in two swallows. "I've done it for a long time. A few more days won't hurt."

"Then I'll call someone."

"You will not," he said with clear precision. "Not even if I have to tie and gag you. I've seen too many operations bungled by bureaucrats through leaks or sheer stupidity."

"You won't use force on me."

"You weren't too sure a moment ago."

"You won't do it."

"You're right, I won't. So you have me defenseless."

I looked at him startled. "Like a tiger. I doubt if you've ever been defenseless in your life."

"Not if I could help it." He added simply, "I can't help it. This means too much. Tenajo wasn't a complete success, but it was close. We're running out of time. I have to do anything I can to keep from triggering this thing, and I need you to help me."

"You mean you need my silence."

"That's a big help. I may ask you for more help later."

"It's wrong."

"Maybe. But Dekim is too volatile. I can't risk him doing something crazy. Do you know what anthrax can do?" His lips twisted. "The British set off an experimental anthrax bomb on an isolated island off the coast of Scotland. A day after the explosion the sheep began to die. Gruinard is still uninhabitable today."

I shuddered. "And that's supposed to convince me to keep quiet? Besides, you said the mutated strain has a life of only a few hours."

"What if Dekim decides to use the unmutated organisms?"

"Yameru. You're scaring me."

"You're not as scared as I am. I've seen it. I know what it is."

"Where did you--"

"Help me."

I gazed at him with frustration. I had learned how clever he could be and how fully capable he was of manipulating my feelings. But he meant every word he said, and the sheer force of his honesty was overwhelming. "Damn you."

"I need you."

I whirled away from him and moved across the room.

"I'm doing the right thing." His words followed me. "Believe me, Duo."

Just because he thought he was doing what was right didn't mean it was.

But what if he was? I'd had a taste of Dekim's venom. What if a leak triggered him to act? The mutated strain was hideous enough, but the unmutated bacteria was worse. Heero's story about Gruinard had shaken me.

Heero said, "You don't know what Dekim is capable—"

"Shut up, you've made your point. You're just like Quatre. I'll make my own decision, dammit."

Heero fell silent.

The decision was already made I realized. I turned to face him. "I'll wait… for a while." I held up a hand to stop him speaking. "Until we get Quatre away from Dekim. After that, I don't know. But I won't be some ventriloquist's dummy who speaks when you tell him to. Don't you dare close me out again. I want to know what you know. If I'm going to be responsible for some doomsday weapon going off, it's not going to be because I'm being kept in the dark."

He nodded slowly. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." I came toward him. "Give me a cup of that damn coffee. I need it now."

***************

I glared at Heero as he moved around the kitchenette, tidying after supper. I was a baka. If I had a brain in my head, I would call FBI or CIA or… someone.

But I could see Heero's point about bureaucracy interfering. I had seen too many mistakes in Somalia to believe in even the best-intentioned organizations.

"You're burning a hole in me," Heero said mildly. "Would you mind stopping you glaring?"

"Yes, I would. I enjoy glaring at you."

"Whatever makes you happy." He neatly hung up the dishtowel.

"Tell me, is all this domesticity a ploy to disarm me? The contrast is just a little too obvious."

"Oh, you think that I'm trying to distract you from this gargoyle mug of mine?" He shook his head."I know it doesn't work. The face always stays with you." He turned off the kitchen light and came around the bar. "So I live with it and sometimes use it."

"I suppose in your profession it could come in handy."

"My, my, you are trying to hurt me, aren't you?"

"Does honesty hurt? You do kill people. I saw you."

"Yeah, I kill people."

This was ridiculous. For some stupid reason, I was feeling guilty about accusing him of something that I knew very well was the truth. 

But the truth wasn't always kind.

Still, since when did I start looking at things in black and white? Heero was a very complicated guy, and I had found that complicated people were capable of doing both evil and good.

"Well have you made up your mind?" Heero's gaze was fixed on my face.

"About what?"

"Weren't you just struggling against giving me the benefit of the doubt?" He suddenly smiled. "I think you lost. You're too soft, you know. Life must be hard for you."

"Life's hard for everyone." But it was harder when you ran across someone who seemed able to read your thoughts.

"It's your eyes. It shows everything."

I wrinkled my nose. "I know. You'd be surprised what a disadvantage it's been to my career."

"Oh, I know about those kind of things. Nothing surprises me."  
No bitterness colored his voice, which surprised me. What had it been like growing up with that intimidating face?

Perhaps he hadn't grown up with it. Maybe as a child he had looked perfectly normal and innocent. His dark blue eyes were perfectly fine and—

"What are you thinking?"

"That you have nice eyes." I blurted without thinking.

He blinked disconcerted, "Oh." He quickly glanced away. "We've located a safe house for you in North Carolina. I'll drive you there tomorrow afternoon."

"Why not tomorrow morning?"

"We have to go to the CDC. I asked Zechs to have the reports ready for me on the mutant strain. I may need documentation."

"Have you contacted Wufei yet?"

"Wu? I tried him this morning before I left. I couldn't reach him."

I frowned. "Shouldn't we have heard… something?"

"I'll try him again tomorrow before we leave." He paused. "But you shouldn't worry too much, He'll be in the hills close to Tenajo and unreachable by phone."

"But you'll still try?"

"No problem." He said.

Gentleness? I had to be mistaken. I stood up and moved toward the stairs. "I called Sally this afternoon. Iris is doing fine."

"That's good."

"You bet it is. I'll see you in the morning."

I could feel his gaze on my back as I climbed the stairs. It was strange how comfortable I was becoming with him. Well, anyone would probably become comfortable with a tiger if caged with the tiger for any length of time. That didn't mean I should trust Heero.

But I did trust him or I wouldn't have let him talk me into remaining silent. Gods, I was tired of it arguing with myself as well as Heero. I had made a decision. Now I had to stop questioning and teetering back and forth. I had done enough of that all my life. I couldn't afford not to act with sureness and authority now.

Quatre, who had never really needed anyone, needed me. I had to clear my mind of everything but that one important truth, to hell with Heero's safe house. I would give Wu-man one more day. If he didn't call with word of Quatre, I would go back.

Heero could save the world. I would concentrate on saving Quatre.

***************

"Anthrax." Relena repeated. "I can't keep this under wraps, Heero."

"Go ahead and tell the president. See what he does about it with no hard documentation. He's great on documentation. Even if we show him the CDC report, there's no proof that Tenajo could happen here."

"……"

"Exactly."

"It may be too late by the time we get proof, and then it's the Company on the line again. Politicians will sidestep quicker than you can blink. How much time do you think we have?"

"God knows. We may be on borrowed time already. I think he's almost ready to go." He paused. "But he's waiting for something."

"What?"

"I'm not sure. Have you managed to tap his phone?"

"Not his cellular. Only the one in his office."

"What have you found out about Morrisey?"

"Nothing much. He's evidently in Dekim's pay. We got the impression he was looking for someone for him. He's called Dekim several times lately from different cities in the U.S. Is he important?"

Heero had the uneasy feeling that he was very important. "He may be. Quinze said he's been faxing and phoning Dekim for a long time. Find him."

"You think we haven't been trying?"

"Try harder. What about the lab in Iowa?"

"You told me about it just the day before yesterday. I had to pull the FBI into it. They have more domestic contacts."

"What about the Cheyenne connection?"

"Nothing yet. No sign of any counterfeiting activity. No cases of anthrax reported."

"There probably won't be any cases reported in advance of the strike this time. Dekim is almost through experimenting. What about Odin Lowe? Heard anything more?"

"Only that he's dropped out of sight." There was a pause. "I want Duo Maxwell, Heero."

He'd known that was coming. "The CDC is the only place Dekim would trace me to, and I made sure I wasn't followed. I'm heading for a safe house tomorrow. You can't have him."

"I could take him."

"That's what you'd have to do." He added softly, "And do you really want to piss me off that much, Relena?"

"Don't give me that. I helped make you what you are."

Relena was actually proud of the assassin she had helped create. Heero never realized that. "The hell you did. Dr. J was the one who gave me the tools and showed me how to use them. That's all. Nakoa made me what I am."

Another silence. "You're lucky you're in a unique position in the operation. I'll allow you to have your way… for now. Keep me posted." Relena hung up.

Lucky? Heero wearily leaned back on the couch. No one connected with this mess was lucky. Not him, not those people in Tenajo and certainly not Duo Maxwell.

He just hoped to hell Odin Lowe was on his way to Timbuktu and not Atlanta.

***************

I did not dream of Quatre that night. I dreamed of L2.

I woke in the middle of the night with tears streaming down my cheeks and Heero standing over me in the darkness.

I jerked upright in bed, my heart pounding furiously. For a moment I thought I was back in that hospital room in San Andreas.

"I heard you crying out," he said quietly. "I thought you'd want me to wake you."

I wiped my cheeks with the backs of my hands. "Arigatou."

He shrugged. "We have enough nightmares to face everyday without tolerating them at night." He turned and moved toward the stairs. "Good night."

"Good night."

No questions. No conversation. Just that single act of understanding.

I lay back down. I had thought I was getting better. I hadn't dreamed of L2 for nearly three weeks. I _was_ better. I wouldn't accept anything else.

I closed my eyes and took deep steadying breaths. That usually helped.

It didn't this time. I started to shake. After several minutes I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I took aspirin and drank a glass of water. I was shaking so badly I almost dropped the glass.

Why wouldn't it go away? I sank down on the tile floor and hunched there, linking my arms over my knees. Think of something else. Think of Tyngate. Think of Trowa or Quatre or—

"Daijoubu?" Heero was squatting beside me.

Oh, God, I didn't want anyone to me like this. "No I'm not okay. Go away."

"I tried to do that. It didn't work." He sat down and crossed his legs. "So I have to do something about it."

"Why? It's none of your business. I'll be fine."

"Is it Tenajo?"

"Do you feel guilty? No, it's not Tenajo."

"Dekim?"

"Do you think I'd let that son of a bitch do this to me?" I blinked furiously to keep back the tears. "Will you please go away?"

"No, neither of us will sleep if you keep on like this. You're shaking so bad, your going to break your tailbone on that hard tile." He pushed back my hair from my forehead in a gentle gesture. It reminded me of the way he touched Iris. "I think you have to talk to me, Duo."

"The hell I do."

"Talk to me about L2."

I stiffened. "Nanda?"

"L2. That's what you were muttering when I woke you."

I moistened my lips. "Then why did you ask about Tenajo?"

"A process of elimination."

"How analytical."

"Gomen, that's the way I am." He glanced around the brightly lit bathroom. "And my analysis of the situation tells me this isn't the spot to get you to relax." He stood up, leaned down, and lifted me to my feet. "Bed."

"Nani?"

"I meant what I said. Relaxation." He carried me to the bed and set me down. "Not sex."

I looked at him in bewilderment. "I didn't think you meant anything else."

"I know. I just thought that I'd throw in something to distract you." He tucked the blanket around me. " Unless you get off on Dracula. Actually, there are some people who do." He got up and turned off the bedroom light. The bedroom was plunged into darkness. He sat down beside me and touched my arm. "You're still shaking, but not as much."

"Then you can go away."

"Not after I've gone through all this trouble. I don't want it to happen again tonight. I need my sleep. Talk to me. I won't go away until you do. How long has it been since you were in L2?"

"Three months."

"I've never heard of L2."

"It was only a tiny orphanage."

"Was?"

"They burned it down after the incident."

"What happened there?"

The babies… 

"What happened there, Duo?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Pretend I'm Quatre."

"I didn't talk to Quatre about L2." I hadn't told those details to anyone. Not even that shrink in the hospital. Why should I talk to Heero?

"Because I don't care. I'm almost a stranger to you." He read my thoughts again. "It would be like talking to yourself. What did they do, Duo?"

Blood. So much blood… 

"What?" Heero repeated.

"The babies…"

"What babies?"

"I was at the… orphanage. I was doing a photo essay on the orphans of war. The orphanage was crowded, but the kids… It always amazed me how as kids we can be happy in almost any circumstance, especially in orphanages… a little food, a bed, companionship, and they'll smile at you. There was this one little boy. Solo. He couldn't have been more than three. He followed me around while I was taking pictures. He was so—" I stopped, and it was a moment before I could continue. "I kept going back. At first I thought it was the story, and then I thought it was just being a good guy. So many couples in America can't have kids and if they saw the photos… But then I realized it was Solo. I didn't have any business trying to adopt him. It was all wrong. I'm young, single and always traveling, but I knew I had to have him with me. He was mine. I started the paperwork."

_The dogs were howling._

"And did you adopt him, Duo?"

"Iie."

"Why not."

What are you? Some sort of ghoul? 

"Why not, Duo?"

"He died," I whispered. "They all died."

"How?"

"The guerillas. A truce was supposed to be in effect, but there were still attacks. I was sixty miles away from the orphanage doing another story when we heard about it. I made my driver turn around and go back. The guerillas had already pulled out but the dogs were howling. They kept howling and howling… I went into the orphanage. The children were dead, butchered. Solo was in the kitchen. Who would kill a baby? Monster. They had to be monsters."

"Hai."

"I went through the orphanage and took more pictures. I knew that they'd deny it once peace came. It would be covered up and forgotten. That's the way it always is. I couldn't let that happen. I had to show—" I could barely talk. I was trying to stop the sobs. "I couldn't let it—"

"Shh, I know."

"No you don't. You weren't there."

He was silent for a moment and then stood up. "I'd like to comfort you, but you don't want that from me. You don't want me here right now at all. You're afraid I'll think that you're not as tough as you should be." His hand touched my hair with the same gentleness he had displayed in the bathroom. "You're wrong. I'll be right back."

He was gone. I heard his steps on the staircase. I lay there with the tears running down my face. The sobs soon stopped, but the tears still came.

The babies…

What had I done? I felt as if my insides had been torn out. Once I had started, the words tumbled out and couldn't be stopped. Why spit out all those memories and pain to Heero?

_It's like talking to yourself._

In a way it had been like that. He'd removed himself, stepped away and let the words pour out into the darkness. And then left me so I'd have no loss of dignity. Why had—

"Is it okay if I turn on the light?" Heero was back, a dark silhouette at the top of the stairs.

"Sure." I took a deep breath and hurriedly wiped my eyes with the blanket. "But why ask now? I don't remember you asking permission to turn it off."

"Different stroked for different games." He crossed to the bathroom and switched on the light there. "The situation isn't the same." He came back to me. "Drink this."

He was holding a glass of milk.

"Warm milk?" I asked. "Is that another one of your mother's remedies?"

"Cold milk." He smiled faintly. "If I went through all the trouble of heating it, you'd think it was another domestic ploy."

I looked at him over the rim of the glass as I took a sip. He didn't seem at all domestic. For the first time I realized that he was barefoot and bare-chested and his dark hair was rumpled. He looked muscular, powerful.

And I probably looked like a mess. Thank God he'd turned on only the bathroom light. I felt vulnerable enough as it was. Was that why he hadn't turned on the more revealing overhead light?

"Drink all of it."

I took another sip and handed the glass back to him. "That's enough."

"Fine." He stood looking at me. "What happened to the pictures you took at L2?"

"The film was confiscated."

"Nani?"

"You heard me. When I got back to army headquarters, the colonel confiscated the film. He said it was inflammatory and that publishing it would be detrimental to the peace process. I showed him inflammatory. I nearly went crazy. I screamed and ranted. I notified every politician I knew. None of it did any good. The army doctors said I was having a breakdown and stuck me in a hospital. They kept me there for weeks. When I got out, the massacre had been neatly covered up." I smiled bitterly. "So even we cover up when it suits us. It made me sick. I hate lies."

"You have a right." He paused. "I'm sorry I was so rough on you. Do you think you can sleep now?"

Sleep? I felt ready to collapse. "Hai."

"Good then maybe I can too. Good night."

"Good night."

He turned off the light and left, all brusque, abrupt, cool, as if that moment of intimacy had never happened.

Intimacy? He was a stranger.

But he wasn't a stranger. Already he was more familiar to me than many people I had known for years. I knew the terse, crisp way he spoke, the intensity masked by impassiveness. I had even seen through his menacing demeanor and detected a measure of humor and gentleness. Good God it was like bonding with Jack the Ripper.

No, Heero killed out of necessity, not for pleasure. He had shown me violence, but he had not been wantonly brutal.

In another minute I'd be putting a halo over his head. I smiled. Not bloody likely.

What on earth had possessed him to bring me cold milk? He hadn't answered my question about his mother's remedies. It was odd to think of Heero with a mother who taught him household tasks and manners. It was odd to think of him with a mother, period.

_I didn't crawl out from under a rock._

He was obviously accustomed to people thinking of him as something other than human.

And that's exactly what I was doing.

Yet he was my companion now and had been my savior at San Andreas and guardian on that journey through the hills. In some way I was making contact with him.

And, yes, his presence was becoming almost comforting.

***************

[1] – Talking about the coffee makers in hotel rooms reminded me of when on my band trip how my friend didn't know the filter was already in the machine and put toilet paper in there to use as a filter. I just hope Heero didn't make the same mistake. ^_^;;;


	10. Chapter 9

And Then You Die…

*******O_o*has been typing like a maniac*I think I'm receiving some hints to continue this and some of my other stories by the reviews that I've gotten. *multiple sweatdrops form*Well I will try between redecorating my room, to getting in my different classes and such in to type furiously in my free time. ^_^Heh. I mean I like being on the compie anyway.

***I also have the feeling that after this chapter that some of you might be after me to continue very badly… for reasons that will become obvious later. Yeah anyway, I'm typing! I'm typing! *looks below* see! Wasn't that fast? ^_^;;;Not fast enough, eh? Eh-eheheheh…

** **

Chapter 9

It was nearly nine-thirty in the morning when Odin Lowe got off the plane at the airport and close to ten by the time he drove his black Saturn rental car out of the lot.

He checked the city map and then got on I-75 highway heading north.

It was raining hard, but the traffic was moving smoothly. He should be at the CDC within a half hour. If he was lucky, this might be a very quick job.

***************

It took Heero and I almost an hour on I-75 South to make it to the CDC headquarters. Heero pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine.

"Aren't we going inside?" I asked when he made no move to get out of the car.

Heero shook his head. "Zechs is going to meet us here. He's a cautious man."

"If he was cautious, he wouldn't be involved with you." I tried to peer out the windshield. "And he's going to be very wet."

"Which will only make him worse-tempered." He nodded at a tall, lanky man in a trench coat springing across the parking lot. "Here he comes."

Zechs Marquise opened the back door of the car, dove in, and slammed the door. "It's a bad sign."

"The rain?" Heero asked.

Zechs nodded gloomily. "It's a bad sign." He stiffened when he saw me. "Who is he?"

"A friend."

"Oh, great. Why don't you invite the whole world, Heero?"

"He's safe."

"Until they get him to testify against me."

"No one is going to testify against you."

"Yeah, sure. If this goes down, everyone's going to take a fall." He thrust the briefcase he was carrying at Heero. "Take this and let me get out of here."

"Arigatou, Zechs."

"Just don't ask me to do anything else. You know you could have probably done a better job than me. This was nasty stuff."

"Did you do a double check on the test?"

"I'm almost sure it was positive, but there was too much deterioration of the sample. We'd need a lot more to do the job."

"I know. I'll see to it."

"Make it quick. And I don't want to hear from you until then."

Heero nodded. "I won't bother you if I can help it."

"Find a way to help it." He got out of the car. "We're even, Heero." He hesitated, raindrops pouring down his face as he stared at Heero. "It's real nasty. You going to be able to do anything about it?"

"With a little help from my friends."

"I'm not your friend. Do you hear me, Heero? I'm not your friend. Don't you bring me back into this unless you have a way of stopping it."

"Not unless its necessary." Heero started to back out of the parking space and then slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting a black Saturn that was whipping through the parking lot. "I'll call you."

"Don't."

The black Saturn was out of the way and searching for a parking spot in the next row. Heero backed out and headed for the exit.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Zechs still standing in the rain, looking after us. "He's scared."

"We're all scared, aren't we?"

But it had shaken me to realize that an expert in the field was so terrified by the results of the tests. I then suddenly remembered something Zechs had said. "He said you could do the tests your self. Could you?"

"Given the right equipment."

"Then are you a doctor like Zechs?"

"No one's like Zechs."

"Don't sidestep. Are you?"

"Hai. A long time ago, Zechs and I went to school together."

"Then why—"

"Did I give it up to kill people?" Heero finished. "It takes time for someone to find their true vocation. Zechs leads such a dull life."

It was clear Heero had no intention of telling me anything more. At least I had the little bit Zechs had thrown out. It put a whole new light on Heero.

Or did it? He had been an enigma since the moment I had met him.

"Don't worry about it." Heero shot me a sly glance as he negotiated through the traffic towards the freeway. "I didn't mean to overwhelm you with my myriad qualifications. Just treat me as your run-of-the-mill hit man. I'm sure you'd prefer it."

Damn him.

I changed the subject. "Will he help us again if we need him?"

"He'll help us."

"He deals with dangerous germs everyday. Why did the anthrax frighten him so much?"

"It comes packaged with money. He sees the potential. Money is alive."

I shook my head. "Money is just paper."

"Is it? Take a twenty-dollar bill out of your wallet."

"This is stupid." I flipped open my wallet and extracted a twenty. "It's just paper."

"Tear it up."

My hand instinctively tightened on the bill. "Don't be ridiculous. We might need it."

"You see, its not just paper, its alive. That twenty-dollar bill could send your kids to college, pay for your house, free you from a job you hate, buy you a heroin hit to keep your body from screaming in pain. Who's going to refuse it even if there's a chance there's danger of it being contaminated?Most people think bad things are only going to happen only to the other guy."

"I can tear it up."

"Then do it."

I ripped the twenty-dollar bill in two.

"Congratulations." Then he smiled. "But what are you doing?"

"Just putting the pieces back in my wallet."

"So that you can tape them together later."

My eyes widened as I realized that's exactly what I had intended to do. "It would be stupid to lose the money for a silly experiment."

"Right." He swung onto the freeway. "They say self-preservation is the first law. Wouldn't you say that twenty-dollar bill has just preserved itself?"

Alive. The idea was ludicrous. No, it was frightening. Because I now understood what it meant. Money was not only currency, it was knit into the fabric of people's lives and dreams. Dekim couldn't have chosen a more irresistible siren to deliver the bacteria.

"Diabolical."

"Hai."

"But if people knew, surely they'd reject it."

"Maybe. But when we see them tearing up or burning money, we'll know we're really in trouble. What emotional response do you think it would take to trigger an act like that?"

Despair. Frustration. Fury.

"There would be an anarchy. Just the situation Trieze wants. It was his idea to use the money. He planned and worked for over seven years to steal those plates from Denver."

"Where are they making the counterfeiting money?"

"They made the pesos in Libya. I think they moved the operation earlier this year when they started making the U.S currency."

"Where?"

"Somewhere in the U.S. is a good bet."

"You don't know?"

He shook his head. "But it would make sense not to have to transport the anthrax all over the world."

"My God Heero, what do you know?"

He was silent a moment. Then, "I found reference to Waterloo, Iowa."

"How?"

"Dekim had a lieutenant removed when he became overly curious about what was happening at Tenajo. I searched his belonging afterward."

After Heero had killed the lieutenant himself. It was too easy to make the connection.

"Hai." He answered my unspoken question. "And if I hadn't done away with Quinze, I would have had enough information to take the chance of getting you out of San Andreas."

"I didn't say anything. I just wish it had been Dekim."

"My, how fierce we're getting."

"Waterloo, Iowa." I shook my head. I could imagine the hidden laboratory in Libya or even Mexico but not in the heartland of America. "So the lab and the counterfeiting operation are both in Iowa?"

"Probably. It's more than likely that they transferred the counterfeiting operation to the same installation as the lab."

Everything in place ready to move. "Where is the target?" I murmured. "And how do we find out?"

I saw a flicker of expression on his face. "Were you lying to me? Do you know where the strike is going to be?"

"I didn't lie to you."

"But you do have an idea?"

"Quinze had a fax from Morrisey, who's evidently some kind of advance scout. The fax said his next stop was going to be Cheyenne."

"You aren't going to warn them?"

"It was mentioned in passing. No clear threat. Should I panic an entire city when it could be nothing?"

"Yes."

"And when Dekim learns of it, he'll just shift the target and we'll have no chance of intercepting them."

"I don't care about catching them. I just don't want another Tenajo."

His lips tightened. "Trust me. There won't be another Tenajo. Not if there's any way on earth I can help it."

But what if he couldn't help it? I leaned back, listening to the heavy pounding of rain on the roof of the car.

_Bad sign_, Zechs had said.

I hoped he was wrong. We didn't need any more bad omens staring us in the face.

***************

"I missed them." Odin said. "I was too late."

"There was always the possibility." Dekim said.

"Should I stick around?"

"No, get on a plane to New Orleans."

"Is that where he's going?"

Dekim smiled. "Oh yes, that's where he's going."

***************

"Where is this safe house?" I asked as I gazed out the window. The rain had lessened as we drove east, but it was still a steady downpour. "We're in North Carolina now, aren't we?"

"About twenty minutes ago. We'll be at the house soon. It's in Northup, a little town a bit south of here."

"I want you to call Wufei as soon as we get there."

He nodded. "Whatever you say. Though I told you he might not have—"

Heero's portable phone rang. He pulled it out of his jacket and punched the answer button.

"_Shit_."

There was nothing impassive about his expression now as he listened. His mouth twisted and a vein pounded in his temple. "Are you certain, Relena?" he asked. "When?"

Something was wrong, I thought. The anthrax? Had Dekim set off—

"Bullshit. I can't do that. I _won't_ do it." He disconnected the phone and his foot pressed on the accelerator.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"In a minute." He pulled off the highway onto a small road. He shut off the engine.

"Is it the anthrax?" I asked.

"No." He looked straight ahead. He grasped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. "There's been a development in New Orleans."

"A development?"

"An announcement in this morning's _Time-Picayune_."

"What are you talking about?"

"An obituary for Quatre Raberba Winner, who will be buried two days from now."

Shock froze me. I couldn't breathe. Then I shook my head. "No, it's not true. It's crazy. It's just some vicious trick of Dekim's."

He shook his head.

"Don't tell me no." My voice was shaking. "It can't be true. Quatre was in Mexico. How would he— It's a lie."

"I wish it were." His voice was thick. "I wish to God it were, Duo. It was confirmed. He's at the Duples Funeral Home on First Street. They body was delivered last night by an air freight service with forged health department certifications, cash, and instructions for the funeral."

"It's a lie. He told me before he was dead and in the morgue, but it wasn't him. It wasn't Quatre."

"It's Quatre this time. They took fingerprints and—"

"I don't believe it. You said Wufei was going to find him, that he was going to bring him—"

"He's dead, Duo."

I wouldn't believe it. If I believed it, then it might come true. "No, I'll show you. I'm going to New Orleans and I'll go to the funeral home and I'll prove—"

"No." He suddenly turned and drew me into his arms. "I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry."

He was trying to comfort me, I thought dully. But I couldn't accept it. Accepting comfort would be the same as admitting Quatre was dead. "I'm going to see him."

"It's a trap. Why do you think Dekim sent him to New Orleans? It's where you live. He knew we'd be monitoring everything that went on there. He wanted to draw you there."

"So he killed him?"

He didn't answer for a moment. "He didn't have to kill him. He's been dead for a long time. We think he dies of anthrax that first night in Tenajo."

"No, he wasn't sick. And he wasn't at San Andreas. It wasn't—"

"Shh." His fingers buried in my hair and his voice was uneven. "I can't take it. I never thought it would be like this."

"I have to go. He's not dead. I know it. He's not—"

"Duo. He's dead and Dekim wants you dead too. I can't let you go to New Orleans."

I pushed him away. "You can't keep me from going to him."

"Look, Relena's rushing the DNA test. They'll have absolute proof within a day or so."

"Screw their proof. It's not true." It was all lies. "Start this car. Take me to an airport, any airport."

"No." He looked away from me. "I can't do that."

"You _have_ to do it. I'm not going to any safe house. You can do without your damn witness."

He shook his head.

"Don't you tell me no. It's my life."

"No, it's not. Not entirely."

What was he saying?

"There's a very good possibility you have an immunity to the mutated anthrax." He said.

I looked at him in bewilderment. "Immunity."

"You should have died at Tenajo. Everyone else did."

"You said the anthrax dissipated too soon."

He shook his head. "It had weakened, but it was still potent enough to do the job. It killed him"

"It didn't kill Quatre. Dekim—"

"It killed him, Duo." A muscle in his cheek jerked. "You survived. Why do you think Dekim didn't kill you right away? He couldn't understand why you didn't die, and he wanted to run blood tests."

"I don't remember—" The Band-Aid covering the needle marks. Not all sedative injections as I had thought. "Blood tests."

"Dekim didn't broadcast what he was doing, but I knew he didn't like what he found."

"What… did he find?"

"Immune antibodies."

"You can know that."

"Yes, I can. I stole one of the blood samples from the hospital lab before I took you out of San Andreas. Zechs ran a test last night. There was too much deterioration for it to be useful, but it test positive for immunity. Do you know what that means? It may cut the time for developing a serum from nearly a year to weeks or even days." He paused. "That's why you can't take any risks. You're the answer, Duo. We'll need to take frequent blood samples from you so the CDC can work on a cure that will stop Dekim in his tracks."

The answer. I didn't want to be the answer to anything. I just wanted everything to be the same as it was before Tenajo. I just wanted Quatre to be alive and well.

And Quatre _was_ alive. I had almost let Heero convince me that he was dead, that he was in that funeral home in New Orleans. "I'm going to see him."

"They'll be waiting for you."

"So you need to protect your precious blood supply. I'm sorry to inconvenience you, but you'll have to take a new sample in New Orleans." I added bitterly. "Unless you want to follow Dekim's footsteps and lock me up and keep me under sedation."

"That option has been suggested." When I stiffened he added roughly, "Do you think I'd let them do that to you? I'm just telling you the truth so you'll realize how important this is. Relena didn't even want me to tell you about his death."

"He's not dead." I said woodenly.

"If you believe that, why run the risk of walking into Dekim's trap?"

Because I had to know, I had to be sure. "If I'm immune then Quatre is too, and he's always been healthier than me. I'm the one who always caught the colds and the—"

"It doesn't work like that." He said gently.

"And Iris," I said desperately. "What about Iris?Iris didn't die. Iris has to be immune too."

He shook his head. "Iris has no immune antibodies. Dekim lost interest in her almost immediately. She was just lucky enough not to have been exposed to the money by actual physical contact. You and him were going from house to house and had to come into contact with the money at some point."

The cantina, the general store—I couldn't even remember all the places. Had we touched the pesos, pushed them aside as we tried to help—

I was becoming frightened. Heero's logic was too convincing and I had to shut it out. "It's not true. It's not him. Take me to New Orleans and let me show you."

He didn't move.

My hands clenched at my side. "Please, Heero." I whispered. "Onegai."

"_Goddammit_." He turned on the ignition. "It's faster to go back to Atlanta. We can get a direct flight to New Orleans from there."

Relief flooded me. "Arigatou, Heero."

"For what?" He entered the highway with a violence that caused the tires to squeal. "Being stupid? Taking a chance that may get you killed? Taking a chance that could kill a city?" He picked up the telephone and dialed a number. "We're coming Relena." He listened for a moment and then said, "I don't give a damn. We're coming. So pull out the stops on security." He pressed the end button and dialed again. "Meet us in Atlanta airport at the Hertz check-in desk in an hour, Zechs. I'll have the sample for you." He hung up again. "When we get to the airport, I need to take blood from you and give it to Zechs Marquise."

"How are—"

"I told Zechs to include a kit in the briefcase he gave me this morning. I knew I'd have to get a sample to him as soon as possible."

"So you were prepared," I said slowly. "When were you going to tell me?"

"After I had you safe. But I wanted to tell you right away."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I couldn't risk it. You couldn't think of anything but your sister. If you knew how valuable you were to Dekim, you might have tried to arrange a swap for Quatre."

"And you couldn't permit that."

"I couldn't permit that," he said grimly. "Any more than I can take you to New Orleans without getting that sample. It will give Zechs a small chance even if Dekim kills you."

The bluntness of his words should have unnerved me, but it didn't. I had to retain control, or I would fly into a thousand pieces. I had to hold myself together until I got to Qua— Oh, God it couldn't be Quatre.

Quatre was safe, hiding somewhere in those hills in Mexico. There were so many places to hide. Iris and I had found caves and hollows and—

It w_asn't_ Quatre.


	11. Chapter 10

And Then You Die…

** **

Chapter 10

The Duples Funeral Home was a large white building. The paint was starting to peel and the lawn was yellowing in patches. A statue of a winged angel with a trumpet was balanced on a pedestal beside the front door.

Was the angel supposed to be Gabriel? I wondered dully. Quatre would have hated this place. He always liked things neat and well kept.

Heero's grasp tightened on my elbow. "You can change your mind."

I shook my head and quickened my pace up the walk. Just get it over with, I told myself. Find out they'd made a huge mistake and then get out of there.

"You've gone too far, Heero." A shorter, blonde-haired lady stepped out from an alcove. "Do you _want_ them to get him?"

"It's your job to see that they don't, Relena. Have you checked out the funeral home?"

"Yes. Now get him out of here."

Heero glanced at the row of houses across the street. "What about those?"

Relena nodded curtly. "We went through them. No snipers. They'll probably call their congressman. Why would the president come here?"

Heero's gaze went beyond her to the foyer. "Where is he?"

"First room on the left." Relena's glance moved to me. "It's a waste of time Mr. Maxwell. You don't want to do this. It's a closed casket."

"Why?"

Relena shifted uneasily. "He died in the hills and was buried there. It was hot and conditions weren't conducive to—"

"You're saying Dekim dug up his body and sent him here?" Callous and hideous. As hideous as digging a hole and tossing a person in it in the first place.

But it hadn't happened to Quatre. It was someone else in that room.

I opened the door and went inside. First room on the left. An oak casket in the center. Candles burning at either end. No flowers. Where were the flowers?

My chest was constricting. I couldn't breathe.

"Duo." Heero was beside me.

I moistened my lips. "Open it."

"Iie."

"Open it, Heero."

"You heard Relena. You don't want to see—"

"I have to see. I have to know. Open it, or I'll do it myself."

He muttered a curse and stepped forward. He threw open the lid of the coffin.

I would just take one look and I would know they were wrong.

Just one look and it would be over.

_Shit._

Heero had to catch me when I fell.

***************

"Quatre."

"Hush." Heero was carrying me, climbing stairs, I realized vaguely. The stairs leading to my apartment. How had we gotten here? "Don't think. Just try to sleep."

"I didn't believe—"

"I know."

"Was he in pain?"

"Not for long."

"They just threw him in the ground Heero. They just tossed him away." My fingers were digging into his shoulders. "No one deserves— Quatre was so bright and warm and— I didn't say good-bye."

"He would have understood."

"But I should have—"

"Please stop crying."

Was I crying? I couldn't feel the tears. My entire body ached like an open wound. "Gomen."

"I didn't mean—" He sat down in a chair and held me in his lap. "Cry. Hit me. Do whatever you like. Just don't—" He was rocking me back and forth. "Don't _hurt_ like this."

"I can't help it. He's… dead. Quatre's dead." The truth was tearing me apart. Quatre was lying in that shiny oak box at the funeral home. Quatre would never laugh or smile or boss me around ever.

"It will be all right." Heero's low voice was agonized. "It will get better. I promise, it'll all get better."

How could it get better?

Quatre was dead.

***************

Heero carefully put Duo down on the bed and drew the coverlet over him. He hoped he wouldn't wake up right away. It had taken hours for him to fall asleep. He left his bedroom and gently closed the door.

Heero dropped into an easy chair and leaned his head back. He never wanted to go through anything like that again. He had felt his pain and his loss and the responsibility and the guilt. Oh God yes the guilt.

He had to stop thinking about it. It was over. He had to find a way to protect Duo, to keep him from suffering ever again.

Yeah, sure.

Heero's gaze wandered around the small living room of the apartment. The furniture was simple and clean lined. The photographs on the wall were striking: one little black girl with enormous wistful eyes, the Somalian bandit he had mentioned to Duo. On the end table were more personal pictures: a younger Quatre in shorts and t-shirt on a swing beside the river. Quatre in a tuxedo standing beside a taller man also in a tuxedo, Quatre and a little red-haired girl with bold, curious eyes. All Quatre.

He glanced away to the Persian rug covering the oak floor and then to the plants that filled the room.

Plants.

He touched the African violets on the table beside him. Real.

He reached for the telephone and dialed Relena.

"You told me this apartment was safe," he said when Relena answered. "Duo is out of the country most of the time. Who has a key to come in and water his plants?"

"It is safe. His landlord comes in twice a week. He hasn't been approached by anyone. Someone does know their job besides you, Heero."

"Hn."

"How is he?"

"How do you think he is?"

"I told you that you shouldn't have brought him here."

"No sign of Dekim?"

"Not yet. But you know he has someone here."

Yes, he knew it. Dekim would have had a man at the funeral home and he knew exactly where Duo was right now. "Did you check on the air freight service?"

"They were just doing their job. Maybe a little too willing to accept forged papers, but that's all." Relena paused. "We need to talk."

"Later. I'm not leaving him."

"What about the blood test?"

"We think its positive. I'm calling Zechs Marquise to verify the results on the new sample."

"Positive?" Relena swore softly. "And you still let him come here? Are you nuts?"

"Probably." He changed the subject. "Has Wu checked in?"

"Not since yesterday, but he's on his way here. When are you taking him to the safe house?"

"Why don't you worry about finding that counterfeiting center and lab in Iowa and let me worry about Duo?"

"Because you aren't worrying enough about him. You're going to get him killed and then where will we be if Dekim moves ahead with—"

"I'll call you back." Heero hung up the phone. He didn't need Relena to tell him how reckless he was acting. He dialed Zechs Marquise in Atlanta.

"It's a definite." Zechs' excited words tumbled over one another. "We can work with it, but we need more, much more."

"What do you want me to do? Drain his veins?"

"No, no, of course not. But it wouldn't hurt to get me another sample right away."

"I'll get it when I can."

"Right away."

"He just saw the person close enough to him to be his brother dead in a coffin."

"Oh." Zechs paused. "Too bad, But maybe you could explain to him how important it is to—"

"Sayonara, Zechs."

"Matte. He's upset?"

"Baka. Of course he's upset."

"Don't give him a sedative. It would compromise the results of the next batch that you—"

"I'll give him whatever he needs. If I have to knock him out for the next twenty-four hours, I'll do it."

"You don't need to get so temperamental. It's your ball game. Just send me something as soon as you can."

Heero slid the phone back into his pocket.

_It's your ball game._

Yes, it was his game and he was being permitted to call the shots. A dubious honor given him only because nobody else wanted to stick their neck out. Too many things could go wrong. Hell, too many things had already gone wrong. So far one thing in the entire unholy mess had gone right, Duo's immunity factor.

So he was supposed to treat Duo as if he were a lab animal. To hell with what he felt or thought, to hell with individual freedom, think of the public good. Use him.

It made him sick. It was a nightmare that had gone on too long.

He was afraid that he couldn't do it any more.

And he was more afraid… that he could.

**************

"He took the bait?" Dekim felt a rush of pleasure. "He's there?"

"He collapsed at the funeral home," Odin Lowe said. "He's at his apartment now. Heero is with him."

"Any way of getting to him?"

"Security is tight, real tight. I didn't have a chance at the funeral home."

"But you have been hired to get around it Odin." Dekim said softly. "I'm sure you'll be successful. We don't have much time. They'll whisk him away and hide him as soon as they can. I can't tell you how displeased I'd be if that happened after I've gone to all this trouble."

"I've bugged the phone. And I'm watching the apartment. We won't lose him again."

"I hope not. Every minute he's alive is a dangerous minute. For you as well as for him."

There was a silence. "I'll find a way."

"I have every confidence." He hung up the phone. He did have a certain amount of confidence in Odin. He'd found him very efficient if a little lacking in imagination. Imagination was a great asset in an assassin. Heero had imagination, and it was one of his most valuable qualities.

"It's a call from Mr. Morrisey on your portable phone." Mueller was standing in the doorway. "You said you'd take his calls anytime."

Morrisey. Eagerness shot through Dekim as he reached for the phone. Of course he wanted to talk to him. He'd been waiting on pins and needles for weeks. It had taken Morrisey too long already to locate the right man. "You've found him?"

"Trey Catalonia. Twenty-one. A loner. Starstruck. Brags a lot. He's a minor driver in the demolition derby here. He's been hanging around the track for the past couple of weeks and bothering the headliners. He came in third and fourth in a couple of minor derbies, but he gambles the prize money away as fast as he gets it. Sound like the man you want?"

Excitement was soaring through Dekim. "Exactly."

"Do you want me to approach him for you?"

"No, I'll do it myself."This part of his plan was too critical to be handled by underlings. Catalonia was to be the key player and must be absolutely right. "Where is he?"

"Here in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Majestic Hotel. A fleabag near the track."

"Meet me at the airport. I'll be there tomorrow morning. Mueller will call and let you know the flight number."

He hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. The Maxwell boy would soon be dead and the key player had been found.

Things were moving forward very satisfactorily.

***************

Light was streaming through the curtains on the window. I had always loved the misty look they gave off. I'd bought them in Amsterdam. Quatre had laughed and said that he would have never dreamed I liked such a thing, that it didn't suit my personality at—

Quatre.

Pain tore through me and I closed my eyes tightly blocking out the thought of him.

"Don't go back to sleep."

My eyes opened, and I saw Heero sitting beside the bed. 

"You've been asleep for ten hours," he said quietly. "You need to eat now."

I shook my head.

"Yes." He stood up. "I'll go fix you some soup and a sandwich."

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat anyway. Go take a shower and dress." He left the room.

He was back to being cool and decisive, I realized. Yet last night he had held me in his arms for hours and rocked me and agonized with me as if Quatre had been like a brother to him too.

Quatre.

"Get up." He called from the kitchen.

To hell with him, I didn't want to get up. I wanted to go back to sleep and forget the sight of Quatre in that coffin. 

He returned, lifted me to my feet, and pushed me gently toward the bathroom. "I'll give you ten minutes. If you're not out of the shower, I'll come in and finish the job."

I wanted to hit him.

"Life goes on, Duo. You don't heal lying in bed. You heal doing something about it."

"Stop preaching to me. You don't know how—"

He was gone.

I slammed the bathroom door and leaned against it. I was crying again. "Dammit." I whispered. "Damn you, Heero."

And damn Dekim, who had killed Quatre and had thrown him into a hole in the ground as if he were nothing. Monster. Crawling out from under the rock and tearing, hurting—

"Five minutes, Duo."

Why wouldn't he stop nagging me? I thought as I stripped off my clothes. He was just like Quatre and the way—

Was everything going to remind me of Quatre? Heero wasn't like Quatre. No one was like him.

I turned on the shower and stepped beneath the spray.

Quatre had been bright and loyal and loving. And that monster had killed him.

_Show them the monsters._

But they knew who the monster was, and Quatre had still died. The monster was walking around, breathing air, eating food, laughing and talking, and Quatre was dead.

And I was standing here weeping and wailing because "we" had done nothing. It was always "we". We had done nothing at Tenajo. We had done nothing at L2 either.

_*I*_ had done nothing.

Quatre was dead and I was doing nothing.

"Duo?"

Heero was standing outside the shower stall. I could see his frame through the mist on the glass.

"Go away, Heero."

"Come out, your lunch is ready."  
"Go away."

"You've been in there long enough." He started to slide the shower door open.

"Get _out_." I slammed the shower door shut. "I'll come out when I'm good and ready. Just leave me alone right now."

He stood there startled at the fury in my voice.

I was startled too. I hadn't realized how fast and high my anger had soared. My fists were clenched so hard my fingernails were digging into my palms. Wave after wave of anger and hate washed over me.

Dekim.

"Your robe is on the hook on the door." The door shut and I was alone.

No, not alone.

The memory of Quatre as I had seen him in the funeral home remained with me. Would I ever see my friend any other way? Would every memory of the past be burned away but that one?

Push it aside… block it. I would only cry again, and that weakened me. I had to think and plan. I couldn't be weak now. I had to be as strong as Quatre would have been in my place.

Because at last, I'd learned that it did no good to just show the monsters.

You had to kill them.

***************

I didn't come out of the bathroom for almost an hour. Heero looked up when I came into the kitchen.

"Your soup is cold." He rose to his feet and picked up the bowl. "I'll put it in the microwave for a minute."

"You're feeding me in the kitchen?" I gave him a ghost of a smile. "Your mother wouldn't approve."

"She understood emergencies. Sit down."

"Okay." I sat at the table and said haltingly, "I'm sorry… I yelled… at you. You were only doing what you thought best."

"No problem."

"And you were very kind to me last night. Arigatou."

"For Gods sake Duo, I don't want you to thank me." His gaze raked my face. "Daijoubu desu ka?"

No, I wasn't okay. Quatre was dead and Dekim was not. "I'm fine."

"The hell you are. You're pale as a sheet and look like you're holding on by a hair."

"I'm fine." I repeated.

"I called Sally this morning. Iris is doing well."

"Does she know when they're going to operate?"

"She won't commit yet." He set the soup down in front of me. "Sally said she needs to build up more blood."

Blood Dekim had taken from her.

"Has anyone notified Trowa about Quatre?"

"Not yet. He can't be reached."

"I don't want you to try to find him. I don't want him to know."

"Why?"

"He'd try to come down here and it would be dangerous for him. You said he might be a target."

He nodded. "We'll continue to keep a watch on the ranger station and their house."

"I don't want him to see Quatre… the way I did." I had to stop a minute to steady my voice. "Trowa wouldn't believe he's dead any more than I did. He'd open the casket and see— I can't let him do that. I want him buried with dignity and respect. I want you to arrange a quiet funeral for tomorrow. When I tell him, I need to be able to show that he's in a place that—"

"You're not the next of kin. Trowa Barton has the right to make that decision, Duo."

"I'm taking the right." I picked up the spoon. My hand was shaking only a little. "You can fix it. You're the CIA. If you can forge papers and kill people, you can do this. I won't let Trowa see Quatre like that. I want him to remember Quatre as he was before Dekim— Do it, Heero."

He nodded slowly. "I'll make arrangements. But the burial should be done today. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Tomorrow." I would be ready tomorrow. I wasn't strong enough yet. I forced myself to start eating the soup. Eat the soup, the sandwich. Try to sleep tonight. Get strong. "Tomorrow, Heero."

"I don't like— Okay." He sat watching me eat. "But now I have a favor to ask of you. Zechs says he can work with the sample we gave him, but he needs more."

Blood. I had almost forgotten. I shouldn't forget. It had to be entered into the equation. "Then take it."

"I can wait."

"Take it."

He got up from the table and disappeared into the living room. He came back with the black leather kit he had used in the parking lot in Atlanta. When the needle entered my arm, I barely felt it. "You're very good with that."

"Stay still." His expression was intent as he drew the blood. "There." He put the band-aid on my arm. "I'll be right back. I have to get these tubes packed in ice and ready to go. They need to reach Zechs by tonight. His team is working around the clock."

"Then there is a hurry. You said you could wait."

"You were out for a long time." He smiled crookedly. "And I was trying to be humane. Couldn't you tell?"

"Hai." He had been kind. He had held me and tried to keep away the darkness. For a while he had done it, but now it was back and must be dealt with. "I could tell."

He was gone again, to get the blood ready for the CDC. It didn't see, tight I was immune to the disease and Quatre had died. Quatre had a family. Did God just randomly choose?

I stood up and moved toward the window overlooking the rooftops and wrought-iron balconies of the French Quarter. I had always loved this city. When Quatre had come down to visit, he had disliked it and tried to convince me to get an apartment in Detroit. New Orleans was too whimsical for the practical Quatre.

"I've called Relena and told her to send a courier for this package," Heero said when he came back into the kitchen. "I'll answer the door when we hear the bell."

"Are you afraid someone's going to show up with a machine gun and blow me away?" I asked wearily.

"No, not a machine gun. There are quieter and more competent ways." He set the package on the chest by the door. "And I doubt if they'll come to the front door. They'll wait until you go out."

I looked back out the window. "You think they're still waiting?"

"Yes, I told you they would be. That's what this is all about."

I didn't take my gaze away from the Quarter. "It's all about the blood, isn't it? You want the blood and Dekim wantme dead before I give you enough to spoil his neat little plan."

"Hai."

"How much is enough, Heero?"

"We don't know."

"Then I seem to be a very valuable asset."

Heero was silent watching me.

"Do you think Dekim is here?"

"I doubt it. He wouldn't risk it. But he's sent someone."

"I'm sure that was a disappointment to him. I remember his face in the hospital when he told me Quatre was dead. Why did he lie to me about Quatre being in the morgue?"

"He wanted to hurt you. You might not have believed him if he'd told you he'd buried him in the hills. You'd have thought he got away from him."

"I did think that when we didn't find him there. I hoped he had—" Even that hope was painful to remember. "How did Relena know he'd been buried in the hills?"

"Wufei."

I turned to look at him. "Wufei?"

"I told him to look for a grave."

I stiffened. "What?"

"I called him back that day on the aircraft carrier and told him to look for a grave."

"You thought he was dead even then?" I whispered.

"I hoped he wasn't. I prayed he wasn't. But I knew there was a good possibility."

"Why?"

"He wasn't brought to the hospital with Iris. From what you told me about him, I didn't think he would allow himself to be separated from the baby." He paused. "If he was alive."

I had thought the same thing, but I hadn't allowed myself to accept it. "There was a chance he was still alive. There was a chance."

"But a greater one that he was dead." His lips lifted in a faint smile. "My analytical mind. I had to play the odds. I told Wufei while he was searching to also be on the lookout for a shallow grave."

"And he found it. When?"

"Three days ago. He spotted a suspect site in the foothills about ten miles from Tenajo. He verified and was on his way back to report to me, when Dekim's men came and began to exhume."

"You mean dig him up." I said bitterly. _Exhume._ Such a smooth, clean word for such an ugly violation.

He nodded.

"You didn't tell me. You let me hope."

"There was a chance I was wrong. And would you have believed me if I'd told you Quatre was probably dead?"

No, I wouldn't have believed him. I hadn't let myself believe it until I actually seen Quatre's body.

Veer away. Don't think of that moment. Keep controlled and steady. "I'm… tired. I'm going back to my bedroom. Let me know when you've made arrangements for Quatre's funeral."

"If you feel up to it, you might start packing. We should leave immediately after the funeral."

I went into my bedroom and shut the door, closing him out. I had started to shake, but I don't think he noticed. I had shown him too much weakness already and couldn't afford to have him perceive me as anything but strong and decisive.

I drew a deep, steadying breath. That was better. Just a little more time and I would be fine.

***************

He was so finely balanced, Heero had expected him to shatter at any moment.

It might be better if he had. That careful control could be more dangerous than the wild despair of last night. His manner today was not what he had expected. Heero was usually able to read him, but he hadn't known what he was thinking today.

That was not going to be problem though. He had an idea that Duo would make his thoughts and needs known soon enough.

***************

**_[Cheyenne, Wyoming]_**

"Yeah, you're a real Evil Knievel, Catalonia. A real, rootin'-tootin' cowboy." Randall said solemnly. "I guess I'd better watch out." He cast a sly glance at his wife sitting next to him at the bar. 

He was snickering, laughing at him. Trey Catalonia realized. He didn't believe Trey's story.

Son of a bitch. So he'd exaggerated a little. Who did Randall think he was? Just because he'd won a few derbies—

Trey got off the stool, jammed his Stetson on his head and strode out of the bar. So he hadn't won any big events. He was still young. He'd make it. He'd be a headliner when Randall was cavorting around in a wheelchair instead of that monster truck.

He jammed his fists into the pockets of his sheepskin jacket and started down the street.

Randall wouldn't be laughing tomorrow night when one of the big tires came off his vehicle while he was performing. Everybody would be laughing at hi instead. All it would take would be a few turns of a wrench to loosen the nuts, and boom, crash. He'd done it once a couple of years before when that bastard in Denver had—

"Mr. Catalonia?"

He turned.

"My name is Dekim."The man came toward him. "I was told you might be here. I've heard what a promising young man you are, and I may have a proposition for you. Could we go somewhere and talk?"


	12. Chapter 11

And Then You Die…

***Notes:;_;Yeah, I know I'm horrible for Quatre dying an all… but you know it took me forever to type that part up because I was crying so much I couldn't see what I was typing. And trust me when I say that probably every question you have about the story will be answered the farther along I go. ^__~But until then the mystery of it all will be with you!XD

** **

Chapter 11

Heero and I left my apartment the next morning when it was still dark.We slipped down the back staircase to a waiting car and drove to the old St. Nicholas's Cemetery in Metairie, just outside New Orleans.

Quatre was interred in an ancient moss-stained crypt overlooking a small, quiet pond. It wasn't dawn yet when the clergyman closed his bible, nodded politely, and hurried out of the crypt.

Poor guy, I thought numbly. Dragged from his bed and brought to a cemetery that resembled something out of an Anne Rice novel.

"We should go too." Heero said gently.

I looked down at the smooth stone sarcophagus in which Quatre's coffin had been enclosed. Good-bye, Quatre. I love you. You'll always be with me.

"Duo."

I nodded, turned, and walked out of the crypt. The air was damp and fresh. I took a deep breath, watching the cemetery custodian lock the iron gates of the crypt. Weak gray rays of light were now filtering through the cypress tress and illuminated the inscription on the tomb.

_Cartier._

Heero's gaze followed mine. "I borrowed a place for Quatre from a Paul Cartier. It's their family crypt. Everyone has to be buried above ground here."

I knew that. But I hadn't thought even Heero would be able to persuade someone to relinquish his final resting place. "Borrowed?"

"I thought it likely that Trowa Barton would eventually want to take him home."

_Take him home._ The words were sweet and melancholy at the same time. _Take Quatre home._

"In the meantime, he'll be safe here."

Safe in that tomb. Weren't the dead always safe? They didn't care they weren't afraid or angry…

"Is that okay?" Heero asked.

I nodded. "I guess I didn't think. Quatre wouldn't have wanted to stay in New Orleans. He would have wanted to go home." I turned back. I'm not leaving him alone. He'll always be with me.

Heero immediately caught up with me, and we walked in silence down the gravel path lined with crypts.

"How did you get them to let us into the cemetery this early?" I asked as we neared the gates.

"Oh, Relena has her ways."

"Are we trying to avoid a hit man? Is that why we're creeping around in the dark?"

"Do you think he'd prefer it if you were an easy day-light target?"[Note: He's referring to Quatre when he says "he". ^_~]

"No."

"I don't either. That's why we're here at this time in the morning and eight agents are stationed behind those crypts."

My gaze went to the row of crypts. "I didn't see them."

"You weren't supposed to."

I wouldn't have noticed anything on that journey from the car to the crypt. I had closed out everything out but the thought of Quatre.

But it was done. All that was over now.

Heero stopped me as I started for the tan Lexus rental car parked at the curb. "Chotto matte." He glanced at a man in a checked sports coat climbing out of a sedan parked down the street.

I stiffened.

"It's okay. He's one of ours. He was watching the car."

The man nodded and Heero opened the passenger door for me.

"You were afraid of a bomb or something?"

"I'm afraid of anything and everything." he said as he got behind the wheel. "You name it."

"Is Relena in that car?"

"Probably."

"What kind of lady is she?"

He looked at me in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"She seemed very angry and impatient at the funeral home."

"She likes to be in charge."

"So do you." My gaze returned to the sedan. "Do you trust her?"

"To a point. I've known her to step on a few people on her climb to the top of the agency. She's good at her job, but she's ambitious, and that always colors a person's actions."

"Hai, it does." My gaze went to the east. "The sun's rising."

"Which means we'd better get going. I'll be glad to get away from this town. We're driving straight out of the city from here. I'll have someone pick up your suitcases from the apartment and deliver them to—"

"No."

He went still and then slowly turned to face me. "Nani?"

"We're not leaving, at least not yet. Drive me back to the apartment."

"No way."

"Drive me back to the apartment and send for Relena. I want to talk to her."

"I'll let you talk to her on the phone."

"Face-to-face. I want everything very clear. Do you remember I told you once that was how I had to have everything?"

He was silent a moment. "I remember."

"Then take me back to the apartment. Or I'll get out and walk, Heero. Do you want to have to trail after me?"

"I could just knock you out and take off."

"You've been there and done that," I said. "It would be trite to repeat yourself. If you want to keep me safe, take me back to the apartment where I have four walls around me." My voice hardened. "Because I'm not going anywhere else."

"Don't do this Duo."

I reached for the door handle.

"All _right_." He said through clenched teeth. He turned the ignition and stomped on the accelerator. The car jumped forward, pressing my back against the seat.

I had won the first battle.

***************

"What are you still doing here?" Relena slammed the apartment door shut. "You're supposed to be halfway to Shreveport to board that flight to Atlanta. Heero for God's sake, I won't stand for—"

"Heero had no choice." I said. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd talk to me, ojousan. I'm a little tired of being treated as if I have all the intelligence of a prized cow."

Relena glanced wearily at Heero sitting in the easy chair across the room.

Heero shrugged.

Relena turned back to me. "No one intends to treat you with anything but respect, Mr. Maxwell. We're all very sympathetic toward your loss. I understand Mr. Winner was a fine man and a—"

"Quatre is dead. So what kind of guy he was doesn't matter to anyone but the people who loved him. I didn't bring you here to mouth condolences to me."

"Then why did you bring me here?"

"Information. I need to be clear on a few points. Are you going to go into Mexico to get Dekim?"

"We can't. That would cause a diplomatic incident. We have no proof."

"You have Quatre's body."

"And a confrontation now might trigger another incident. Be patient."

"I'm not patient." I paused. "I need another piece of information. I need to know about Heero. I decided to go to you since I've noticed he tells me only what he wants me to know."

Relena looked uneasily at Heero.

Heero said. "Tell him."

"You're his boss?" I asked.

"In a manner of speaking."

"Which means you're not his boss? It has to be one way or the other."

"Heero has been working with us for a number a years that make him invaluable to us."

"Qualifications in killing people or in germ warfare? He's a scientist, isn't he?"

"He told you?" Relena hesitated. "Then you know about Nakoa?"

"No, he doesn't." Heero's gaze narrowed on my face. "What are you getting at, Duo?"

"I want to know how much power you have with these people. You seem to be able to call on them at will, but I have to know how far it goes."

"We cut Heero more slack than we ordinarily would." Relena said. "Due to unusual circumstances surrounding the—"

"They use me." Heero said bluntly. "Everyone's scared to death of this thing. I'm convenient because I'm there to blame if anything goes wrong." He smiled sardonically at Relena. "And I use them."

"You're not scared?" I asked.

"Hell yes, I just can't let that get in the way."

No, Heero wouldn't let anything get in his way. "So everybody uses everybody."

"It's the way of the world Mr. Maxwell," Relena said. "But you can rest assured that we're doing everything we can to stop Dekim."

"I'm not assured. I don't trust you."

"You think we'd let a national disaster occur?" Relena asked impatiently. "We appreciate your concern, but it's idiotic to suggest—"

"Listen to him," Heero said. "He wants something."

I nodded. "Oh, yeah."

"Nani?" Relena asked.

"Not what, who. Heero."

Though I was looking at Relena, I could sense Heero's sudden tension.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Relena asked cautiously.

"Everybody uses everybody. I wanna use Heero."

"In what fashion?"

"To keep me alive. To help me get Dekim." I looked at Heero and added deliberately, "To help me kill Dekim."

"Ah, there we are," Heero murmured. "The bottom line of the whole matter."

"You don't understand," Relena said. "It's not so simple. The picture is much bigger than—"

"I don't care about the big picture. You worry about the anthrax. Just give me Heero and make sure he has the authority to do what has to be done."

"Do you prefer me with or without gift wrapping?" Heero asked.

I ignored him, concentrating on Relena. "I want Heero."

"I can understand you're hurt and angry, but our efforts have to be focused on stopping Dekim from causing another Tenajo."

"Then we agree. I've every intension of stopping Dekim."

"If you'd listen to reason, I'm sure that—"

"_You_ listen." My voice vibrated with intensity. "I don't trust your 'reason'. I've seen too many deals made under the table, too many cover-ups. It's not going to happen again. No one's going to make a deal with Dekim and watch him walk away from this. No way."

"No one's going to make a deal."

I whirled on Heero. "Could it happen?"

He nodded slowly.

"Damn you, Heero." Relena said through her teeth. "You're not making this any easier."

"I'm too interested in all of this to lie for you, Relena. I've never been on the slave block before."

Relena shot him a deadly glance before saying gently, "Mr. Maxwell, we've done everything we can to make sure you're safe. Now we need your cooperation."

"Stop patronizing me. Let's be very clear. You need not only my cooperation you need my blood. Give me Heero and you can have it."

"Bingo." Heero said.

Relena froze. "You'd refuse? But it could mean thousands of lives."

"Then I'm sure the White House would be very upset with you for antagonizing me and making me walk away. Give me Heero."

"Suppose I promise after all this is over, Heero will be sent after Dekim. Will you go to a safe house and let us handle things?"

"No safe houses. I'm staying here."

"My God, do you want to die? You're a target."

"No, I don't want to die. Heero is going to keep me alive and you're going to help him. Right here in the open. If I hide there's not going to be any way of drawing Dekim."

"Dekim will send a hit man. He won't come himself."

"Not at first. But I think he's going to get more and more frustrated the longer I stay alive."

Relena shook her head. "You're too valuable to use as bait and you have no conception of what you're asking."

"I'm not asking. I'm not giving you a choice. That's the way it's going to be. Dekim is going to pay for Quatre. There's nothing more to say. Sayonara, Miss. Relena."

Relena stared at me in frustration then she started toward the door. "I need to talk to you Heero."

"I thought you would." Heero rose to his feet. "I'll be back in a few minutes, Duo. We won't go any farther than the hall."

I walked into the bedroom. Second battle. I was glad to have it over but I didn't fool myself that Heero would be as easy as Relena. He had sat there watching me, adding, subtracting, analyzing. I had been aware of him every second I had been fighting Relena.

I changed quickly from a black suit into jeans and a shirt. Before I could fasten the last button, I heard the front door close. I braced myself and went back into the living room.

Heero again was sitting in the easy chair. "You won." He tapped his chest. "I'm yours."

"Are you?"

"As far as Relena's concerned. Of course, he suggested that we go back to her first proposal and keep you doped up while we take the blood we need. But when I wouldn't go along she caved."

"Do you see a certain similarity to Dekim's methods?"

"Maybe. Actually you handled Relena very well. She didn't realize that you were bluffing."

"I wasn't bluffing."

"I think you were. But at any rate, it was too dangerous to call your bluff. The blood is essential."

"You'll get it."

"I know. I intend to make sure of it." He paused. "And to do that I have to keep you alive. That means I'm with you every minute. You don't get in a car, you don't even answer the door without me."

"I'm not arguing."

"Let's go over the apartment and show you the security measures we've installed."

I followed him down the hall.

"Neither your bedroom nor this guest room had a fire escape or other entry. They were okay." He went to the door at the end of the hall. "The lock on this door leading down to the small courtyard was too flimsy. We replaced it with a dead bolt. The courtyard's enclosed by a wrought iron fence and has a gate. There's a long walkway that leads to the side street so we've stationed a man in the courtyard as well as the front street entrance."

"Can they make themselves unobtrusive? I don't want to scare my neighbors."

"Walker was on duty this morning when we came back from the cemetery. He was standing across the street in the shop alcove. Did you notice him?"

"No."

"Then I guess he's unobtrusive." He opened the next door. "And this is your dark room. Turn on the light."

I turned on the switch beside the door and the room was illuminated by a dim red glow.

His gaze went to the window. "You had installed shutters, that's good."

"I didn't do it for protection. I did it to block out the light. That's why they're specially sealed." I frowned. "You've nailed the boards across them. Was that necessary?"

"Hai." He grimaced. "It stinks in here. Chemicals?"

"I like the smell."

"Weird."

"Maybe. But it's a good thing I do like it, since I spend a good portion of my time in this room."

"Then you must not suffer from claustrophobia."

I shook my head. "I like it. I always feel safer here."

He looked at me inquiringly.

"I don't know why." I shrugged. "Or maybe I do. I guess it's because when I develop a print in that pan over there, it's going to show the world as it really is, not what someone else tries to tell me it is. It cuts through the bullshit."

"You have an interesting idea of a security blanket." He flipped off the light, went back into the hall and opened the next door. "As I said, the guest room is secure. I'll occupy this room. It's close enough for me to hear anything. Leave your door cracked open at night." He glanced at me. "Any objections?"

"No, why should there be? You're keeping me safe. That's why I wanted you."

"Not really. I'm a means to an end. You want Dekim dead and you want me to help you get him. All the rest is secondary." He paused. "You want to be bait? Okay, but it will be my way. You want Dekim? I'll deliver him but I'm not going to get either one of us killed in the process."

"I don't want you to deliver him. I just want you to help me get to him."

"Do you know how many bodyguards he keeps around him? You couldn't get near him."

"It won't always be that way. No one's protected all the time. I could do it, if you help me."

"And then Trieze might panic and go ahead with the strike on his own. Is that what you want?"

"No, find a way around it."

"Do you think I can work miracles?"

I had thought it was a miracle when he had found the aircraft carrier for Iris. "You're smart and you get the job done. That's miracle enough. I'm not stupid enough to think I can do this alone. I need you."

He was silent a moment. "So you're really going to use me?"

I flinched. "Hai."

"You're already having trouble with the thought."

"I'll get over it." My hand went to the band-aid on my arm. "You're not the only one being used. I'm not asking for your blood."

"You might be." He studied me. "But not at the moment. So, like a true loyal serf, I'll make myself handy in other ways. What do you want for lunch?"

Relief surged through me. I hadn't been sure until that moment that he'd go along with me. "I'm not hungry."

"You'll have to eat anyway. You're like Iris. It's necessary to build the blood supply."

"Then give me anything."

He nodded and started for the kitchen.

"Heero." I hesitated when he glanced over his shoulder. "I couldn't see any other way. Everyone knows what Dekim is but no one's stopping him. I don't want anything to happen to you, but you're the only one I can trust."

"You… trust me." He asked slowly.

"Hai."

"Don't, Duo." He disappeared into the kitchen.

Third battle. I supposed I should consider it a victory, but I didn't. Heero had temporarily conceded, not surrendered. I had sensed the anger and frustration in him seething just below the surface. It must have been that same anger that had caused him to say I couldn't trust him. I didn't always know what he was thinking, he was sometimes rough and brutally frank, but almost from the start he had been beside me helping me.

_I'll take care of you._

I didn't need anyone to take care of me but it had been good not to be alone.

And right now… I felt very much alone.

***************

"Steak?" I looked down at my plate doubtfully. "I don't know if I'm up for eating it all."

"Sure you are." He sat down opposite me. "It'll be good for you."

I shrugged and picked up my fork. "I'll try."

"I'm glad to see you're cooperating."

"We made a deal. I keep my promises."

"As I recall it was more like blackmail. But that's okay. Semantics don't matter. Not if you eat your steak." He took a bite of his own. "And I was a bit deceptive too. I've no intention of devoting my entire attention to serving you. I may have a few other things to do.

"What things?"

He didn't answer. "Don't worry, I won't leave you unprotected."

"What things?"

"I've been working for over two years to keep Dekim and Trieze from turning that anthrax loose. I wasn't able to stop what happened at Tenajo. It's not going to happen here." He met my gaze. "I can understand why you want Dekim dead. Do you think I don't? I have my own reasons for wanting the bastard dead. There were times when I was working with him down in Mexico that I was barely able to hold myself back. Do you know how many opportunities I had? It would have taken just one twist of his neck. But I kept myself from killing him and I'll keep you from killing him until it's safe to do it."

I shook my head.

He shrugged. "I knew it wouldn't do any good to talk to you. The pain's too fresh. I wouldn't have listened either."

"You said you'd help me."

"I'll help you. I'm just trying to be honest with you. If killing him interferes, I'll see that you delay it." He glanced at my plate. "You've barely made a dent in that. Eat a little more."

"I don't think I can right now. Maybe we can stop at a restaurant while we're out."

He stared at me in shock. "Out?"

"We're going for a walk in the French Quarter. We'll go out every day but always at a different time and to a different destination. I hear it's always a mistake to show habit."

"We're not going anywhere outside this apartment."

"Yes, we are. I want Dekim to know I'm here and that I'm going to stay here."

"Bravado could get you killed."

"It's not bravado. I'm not safe here in the apartment either, am I?"

"You're a hell of a lot safer than on the street."

"Answer me."

He finally nodded. "There's always a way if you put your mind to it. An electrical charge, a poisonous snake in the shower drain." He shrugged. "If they want to get extreme, a small missile through that window over there."

"So much for security."

"Why do you think we want you out of here?"

"It's a question of relative safety then. If we stay holed up they'd only start figuring out how to get me in here. If they think I'm going to be someplace where I'll be an easier target, they might wait."

"Maybe. Are you going to risk your life on it?"

"Yes. It's better than hiding and waiting for them to come get me. I'd rather go after them."

"You don't have that advantage. They know what you look like."

"But I have you to protect me. That's how it's going to be, Heero."

"Great, just great." He said. "Anything else?"

"Yes, I want any calls from Zechs Marquise at the CDC to come over my regular line."

"That line is sure to be tapped."

"I want Dekim to know what we're doing. I want him to worry about it. I want to make him nervous."

"He's not the only one you're making nervous."

"You'll survive." Curious, I asked. "Have you ever put a snake in a drain?"

"Hell no. I'm scared of them. But not everybody is as squeamish."

"Comforting."

"You asked me. If you want comfort, you'll let me take you to that safe house in North Carolina."

I shook my head.

"I didn't think so. So we show ourselves and let them see that it's not worth their while to target the apartment. Is there any place you particularly want to go?"

I said immediately, "Zontag's."

He gazed at me inquiringly.

"It's the best camera equipment store in town. I have to buy a new camera."

***************

The camera in the window at Zontag's captured and held my attention.

"I wish you'd look that way at the steak I made for lunch." Heero said. "Ravenous. Definitely ravenous."

I was. I could hardly wait to get my hands on it. "It's a good camera. All the bells and whistles."

"Is that the kind you had before?" Heero asked.

I shook my head. "That was a Hasselblad. Oh, I have other cameras too, but that was my favorite."

"Don't you want to replace it with the same model?"

"No, I can't replace it. I lived with that camera for eight years. It was the first good one I ever got. It was like an old friend. You can't replace old friends just because they aren't there anymore." Just as you couldn't replace a brother. The though brought a rush of pain, but I quickly blocked it as I started for the shop's entrance. "So you make a new friend with great qualities and hope for the best. I'll be right back."

He followed me. "Where you go, I go."

All the way from my apartment he stayed glued to me. "I doubt anyone's waiting inside to pounce on me."

"I would be. You're a photographer with no camera. This is the best shop in town. It's an ideal match." He opened the door for me and glanced inside. "No customers. It anyone comes in and gets close to you, step away. Don't let anyone touch you. It would only take a pinprick."

"Mardi Gras starts next week. It's going to be hard to avoid being touched in the French Quarter. You'd have to run interference for me like a Saints linebacker."

"Then that's what I'll do. But help me out, okay?"

"You can be sure of it," I said absently, looking back at the camera in the window. The familiar eagerness was surging through me and I felt a moment of guilt. An obsession Quatre had called it and I had buried Quatre only this morning. Should I be feeling this—

"Would you rather go back to the apartment and curl up in the corner?" Heero asked roughly, his gaze on my face. Is that what Quatre would want for you?"

Quatre would have wanted me to live and enjoy life. Quatre hadn't understood my passion but he would never have wanted me to do without anything that would make me happy. In fact, he would have fought anyone who tried to interfere with me. I could almost hear him…

I moved purposely toward the counter. "No, that's not was Quatre would want and that's not what I want either."

***************

"You're stroking that camera as if it were a dog." Heero said as he held the shop door open for me.

"I'm just getting the feel of it. And it's definitely feeling like a German shepherd. Definitely not a golden retriever. We had one at the orphanage when I was a kid, and he was loveable, but really dumb." I touched the camera hanging around my neck. "This camera is smart, very smart."

"A new friend?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. It's still just an acquaintance. But I think it will grow on me." It was already growing on me. I was feeling that solid sense of _rightness_, of completion. I raised the camera, focused on the balcony across the street, and took a quick shot. "It's a good camera."

"Then I'm glad you managed to find it." He took my elbow. "It's time we got back to the apartment. We've been on display long enough."

The tall clown with green hair juggling on the corner.

_Focus._

_Shoot._

The old lady with rouged cheeks and thick stockings sitting on the stool beside the alley.

_Focus._

_Shoot._

"If you keep stopping, we're not going to make it back to the apartment before morning." Heero said dryly.

"Well, I have to break it in." I took another shot of the clown. "And there's no place on earth more photogenic than New Orleans. That's one of the reasons I moved here. It has everything I want. You can go one block in any direction and find a picture that tells a story."

"Just so you're not the story." He kept an eye on the crowd around us. "And I have a hunch you're not taking pictures for the love of it."

"He could be here, couldn't he?"

"He probably is nearby."

"Then I may have a picture of him."

"Is that why you picked up the camera today?"

"Iie." I shot him a glance. "But I thought you'd approve of the reconnaissance."

"Gomen." Heero's gaze was on a trio of teenagers ahead. "I guess I'm a little edgy."

It would take a lot to make Heero edgy, I thought with a chill. "I don't think your hit man is one of those kids."

"Could be. Could be anyone. I'd bet he's here, watching. You never can tell."

"No, you can't tell." I had taken photographs of murderers before. In Somalia, at L2, that butcher of the young boy in Chicago. But I had never taken a picture of anyone who wanted to murder me.

_Show them._

My hands were trembling, a little as I lifted my camera.

_Focus._

_Shoot._

***************

He had taken his picture.

Odin Lowe gazed after Maxwell and Heero until they disappeared around the corner.

He'd taken him by surprise. He hadn't expected him to be strolling around, shooting pictures. Security surrounding him was so tight he'd thought they'd be keeping him under wraps. Odin had already started planning how to get inside the apartment.

That cocky bastard Heero evidently thought his presence was enough of a deterrent. Baka. It wasn't going to be as difficult a hit as Dekim thought. Easy money.

But it had bothered him that he had taken his picture.


	13. Chapter 12

And Then You Die…

** **

**Chapter 12**

A man was sitting on the stairs outside my apartment.

Heero saw me stiffen and said quickly, "It's okay. It's Wufei. I told Relena to send him over as soon as he got to the States."

"Just out for a nice stroll?" Wufei rose to his feet and held out a hand. He had just a hint of an accent. "It's no wonder Relena is having a cow."

Heero smiled as he shook Wufei's hand. "Now, that's a sight I'd pay to see. Duo Maxwell. Chang Wufei."

I murmured something polite. This was the man who had searched for Quatre, the man who had found his grave in the hills. Chang Wufei looked no older than I, he had onyx eyes, longer black hair pulled back, and a lean, strong body.

"I wasn't sure you'd leave Mexico." Heero said. He unlocked the front door and let everyone inside.

"Not much left for me to do there. Dekim's dropped from view. He left a note officially requesting a medical leave of absence. We think he's left the country."

"Kuso. When?"

"Yesterday." His gaze shifted to me and he said quietly, "I'm very sorry about your friend. I tried to get Heero to give you some warning, but Dekim was too fast. He had everything planned and set up before he sent the crew to exhume him."

"A warning wouldn't have helped." Nothing would have helped but it was kind of him to have tried. I got the impression he was usually kind. "Arigatou, Chang-san."

"Wufei." He turned to Heero. "Do you think he's headed here?"

"Not yet. I almost wish he were. I'd bet he has other fish to fry."

Wufei grimaced. "Let's hope not. How close is he?"

"Too close. The anthrax is almost at the point where they want it. He could strike anytime. That may be why he's left Mexico. He wouldn't have done it without reason."

"He just disappeared?" I asked. "How could that happen? Weren't people watching him?"

"He's probably been planning this for a long time," Wufei answered. "He went into a building on the Paseo de la Reforma and never came out."

"That should never have happened," Heero said.

"I agree," Wufei said. "But it did."

"And what did Relena say?"

"What didn't she say? She's foaming at the mouth. She sent a man to pick up Mueller, Dekim's secretary, and put pressure on him. But I doubt if he knows anything. Relena's not sure which way to turn." He smiled at me. "You've unsettled everyone by staying here, you know."

I didn't return the smile. "Too bad. It may be the only way to get Dekim. You couldn't even keep track of him when you had him in full view."

He flinched. "True." He turned to Heero. "Rescue me. Give him one of those intimidating glares."

"You're on your own they don't faze him."

"No?" He looked back me. "Interesting." He smiled again. "Then could I throw myself on your mercy and beg a cup of coffee? I came here straight from the airport."

I nodded. "I'll make some. If you promise me it's not an excuse to get me out of the room so you can talk to Heero."

"Well, actually it was."

He looked like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, and this time I found myself smiling. "Then you can make your own coffee. No secrets."

"Okay, I was only trying to keep you from worrying." He glanced at Heero. "Relena thinks she knows who Dekim sent as a hit man. The local police said one of their informants told them Odin Lowe is in town."

"So it is Odin." Heero said. "I've heard of him."

"But you've never seen him?"

"Once. From a distance."

"He's good?"

"Very good."

"You couldn't recognize him?" I asked.

"I don't think so," Heero replied then turned to Wufei. "Can Relena get me a photograph?"

Wufei shook his head. "Lowe has no police record."

"How could that be?" I asked.

Wufei shrugged. "He appeared out of nowhere three years ago. The name's probably false, but we can verify. We have practically zero on this guy."

So the killer had a name, I thought. He might be faceless but he had a name. Odin Lowe.

Wufei turned to Heero. "You asked me to gather additional information on Dekim before I left Mexico, but I came up with nothing more than you know already."

"Damn," Heero said. "I was hoping for a break."

"And what do you know already, Heero?" I asked.

"He grew up in the slums as one of twelve children. His father was a laborer. We located a social worker, Lamia, who covered the zone and was familiar with the family. She said there was never enough to eat and they were packed like rats, and when Dekim was eight, he was taken to the clinic twice in one month with severe bites."

"Only him? What about the other children?"

"No, evidently the rats liked little Dekim."

"Pleasant."

"But things got better for him. His brother died the next month and Dekim didn't have to sleep on the floor anymore. He took over his cot. Then his oldest sister died and there was suddenly more food to go around."

"How did they die?"

"Food poisoning."

"Dekim?"

"Maybe. But the social worker said food poisoning was pretty common in the slums. When there's so little food, the kids eat almost anything in sight." He paused. "But even if he didn't do it, he might have recognized the advantages of being an only child."

"There were other deaths?"

"In the next five years three sisters and four brothers died."

"How?"

"More food poisoning, two drownings, two knifed in alleys."

"The social worker didn't suspect anything?"

"Not until we started investigating. In fact, she was a little indignant that we were asking questions about Dekim. Lamia admires him. She described him as a polite, hard working little boy. He hardly missed a day of school, which was extremely rare. He fought his way out of the gutter and joined the army when he was sixteen. A local success story God knows, she couldn't have many."

"Are his parents still alive?"

"His father died in an earthquake when he was twelve. His mother was injured in the same quake but lived another three years."

"He has two surviving siblings?"

"One. Another brother died eight years ago. He has one remaining sister. She's twenty-one. 

"Did you try to contact her?"

"She wouldn't talk to any one about Dekim. She's a scared little rabbit."

"Which probably keeps her alive."

"Do you want to try to use her?" Wufei asked.

"Against Dekim?" Heero shook his head. "No ammunition there. Besides, she's survived this long. It would be a pity to rock her boat now."

"My God, do I actually hear a note of compassion? You must be getting soft, Heero." He turned to me. "No wonder he doesn't intimidate you. He's becoming a wuss."

"I wouldn't say that." I said dryly. "Now, if you're finished, I'll go make your coffee."

He held up his hand, palm forward. "I swear."

I went into the kitchen and opened the cabinet door.

Flesh-devouring rats… The image was terrifying, but the thought of a little boy committing fratricide was even more frightening. Cause and effect.

So that was how monsters were created.

[Note: This *is* an AU story so it doesn't really matter anyway…but… I don't know (and don't really care to know) Dekim's actual history… so I borrowed bits of the bad guy from the book's history. ^^;;;]

***************

"He seems to be taking it well." Wufei's gaze was on the kitchen door through which Duo had disappeared. "Tough guy?"

"Sometimes," Heero said. "He's definitely a survivor."

"Not if he stays here."

"He won't leave."

"And you won't let Relena have her way."

"I won't treat him like an animal," he said harshly. "He deserves better."

Wufei's lips pursed in a soundless whistle, "You appear to have a problem. You're going to have a hell of a time keeping Relena from taking him."

"Do you think I don't know that? Relena's almost as big a threat as Odin Lowe. That's why I wanted you here." He paused. "I may have to leave him for periods of time. I need him protected."

"He's valuable. Relena will see to it."

"I don't trust Relena to do it right. All she's concerned about is making sure he's available to the CDC. I trust you."  
Wufei shook his head. "That's not why I was sent here. I have a job to do."

"Your job is Dekim. Dekim may come here."

"And he may not."

"He's the key. Even if we get Dekim and Trieze, who's to say that someone else won't get hold of that mutated anthrax? He has to stay alive until we find a cure. You know damn well that your government is scared to death of that anthrax."

Wufei nodded slowly. "Good argument."

"Good enough?"

"I'll stay around… for a while."

Heero felt a rush of relief.

"You like him." Wufei was studying his expression. "It's not just that he's our ticket out of this mess."

"He didn't deserve this."

"Innocent bystanders get in the way, and things happen."

"He's had enough. I want him safe."

"Coffee." I entered carrying a tray. I frowned as I noticed the sudden silence. "You've been talking."

"Nothing you would have found interesting," Wufei said. "I've just convinced Heero that since he's become a wuss, he's inadequate to the task of guarding you. Would you mind if I help him on occasion?"

"Not at all." I put the tray down on the table and poured coffee. "But it seems a pretty thankless job. He tells me I'm not even safe here." I shot Heero a look. "And he refuses to protect me from snakes in my shower drain. So what good is he?"

"Ah, yes, the old black-mamba-in-the-drain trick," Wufei nodded solemnly as he reached for his cup. "I'm very good at taking care of that. Amazing what you can learn from watching James Bond movies."

"There are only two cups." Heero pointed.

"I don't want any coffee." I started across the room. "I'm going to my darkroom and develop the roll of film I took this afternoon." I raised a brow. "Unless you want to check for a mamba in the drain."

"You do it yourself," Heero said evenly. "And if you find one, call for Wufei."

***************

The red glow of the darkroom light made the faces in the prints seem strange and sinister.

There were pictures of clowns and musicians and tourists. I had taken similar photographs in the French Quarter hundreds of times before and they hadn't made me uneasy.

But then one of these faces might belong to my murderer.

One of these faces might have watched me bury Quatre that day.

My eyes were suddenly burning with tears.

Shit. I had been fine, almost normal, and then the memory of Quatre had come out of nowhere and ambushed me. Would it always be this way?

***************

"What was the hurry?" Heero asked when I came out of the darkroom twenty minutes later. "What did you think was on that film?"

"Probably nothing. I don't like undeveloped film. I'm always afraid something is going to happen to it."

"Like L2?"

I nodded and glanced around the apartment. "Where's Wu?"

"He went to see if he could locate an apartment nearby."

"It's not likely with Mardi Gras so close."

"But Wufei is very persuasive." 

"Like you."

He shook his head. "Wufei and I are nothing alike. He has a much more accepting and gentle nature about him."

"Accepting?"

"His wife Meiran got on the wrong bus in Tel Aviv four years ago. She was going to visit her mother. It blew up before she got there. Terrorists of Trieze's."

"Terrible."

"Another innocent bystander. But the world seems to target innocent bystanders these days. They're easier to kill." He shrugged. "Wufei was able to let it go."

"I like him."

"So do I." He looked at me. "But it didn't keep me from putting him between you and Dekim."

His sudden intensity made me uneasy. "Because of the blood samples."

"Hai." He glanced away from me. "Because of the blood."

My uneasiness was increasing. "I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. I'd like to call Sally first. Could I use your portable phone?"

He handed it to me. "Let me know if there's a problem with her, okay?"

I nodded and started for the bedroom. I hoped there was no problem with Iris. Everything else was going wrong. Please, God, just let this one thing go right. I stopped at the door. "Do you need to take a sample tonight?"

"Iie. Maybe tomorrow."

"Well, if you change your mind, let me—"

"I told you I don't _need_ it dammit."

I threw up my hands in self-defense. "Okay. Okay." I closed the door behind me, shutting him out. All I needed now was an edgy Heero barking at me. I dug out Sally's number and quickly dialed it.

Ten minutes later I returned the phone to Heero.

"I couldn't reach Sally, but I spoke to the head nurse. Iris is doing fine."

"Good. Now, where are those pictures you developed?"

"Still in the darkroom. Why?"

"I thought I'd study them and see if I recognize anyone."

"Do you think you might?"

"We assassins belong to a small and select group. There's a chance."

"Baka. You're not… like them."

"You're mistaken. You can ask Relena. I was trained very hard to make sure I was a very good assassin." He moved toward the darkroom. "Go to bed. I promise I won't disturb anything."

"Why were you trained?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. It matters." I wasn't sure why, but it mattered very much to me. "Relena mentioned—" I searched my memory. "Nakoa. What's Nakoa?"  
He was silent for a moment and I didn't think he was going to answer. But then he spoke. "Nakoa was another Tenajo. It was a U.S. biological research facility on a tiny island in the South Pacific whose purpose was to develop vaccines against possible germ warfare attack weapons. A rare bacteria escaped from one of the level 4 laboratories." His face was without expression. "Everyone died. No survivors."

I stared at him sick. "Everyone?"

He nodded. "The bacteria entered the central air-conditioning system of the complex that serviced both the laboratories and the private quarters of the scientists who worked there. Forty-three men, women, and children."  
"And Dekim had something to do with it?"

"Oh yes. We didn't know who was responsible at the time but we found out later that Dekim had one of the scientists in his pay. That scientist smuggled out various bacteria to Dekim who then sold them to other terrorists. But Relena started to figure out what was going on, so Dekim needed to destroy evidence and stop the investigation in its tracks. Dekim's scientist then planted the bacteria before he took off and went into hiding. It was too dangerous for Relena to send anyone to the island to continue the investigation. Nakoa will be a wasteland for the next fifty years."

Men, women, children— they all died because of Dekim. "Why didn't I ever hear about it?"

"We covered it up. It wasn't too difficult. It was a top secret installation and nobody wanted to admit it existed anyway."

"A cover-up?"

"You're horrified? I know how you hate them. But I'd do it again. We didn't know who was responsible and we had to find out. It took me years to figure to make the connection to Dekim and Trieze."

"Were you one of those scientists who worked on Nakoa?"

"Hai."

"But you lived."

"I was in Washington, giving a report. It was all over by the time I got back. Relena met me in Tahiti to break the news."

His voice was level, without emotion. He might have been talking about the stock report, but the indifference was a lie. I knew him better than that now. "Gomen."

"You don't have to be sorry. It was a long time ago. I was different."

"Bullshit."

He smiled faintly. "You don't believe me?"

"I believe you protect yourself by denial just like the rest of us."

"Maybe you're right," he said wearily. "I know it's getting harder all the time to know what's right and what's wrong. It used to be simpler. Getting Dekim was right. Everything else was wrong." He looked into me eyes. "And that's how you feel now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's the way I feel."

"Let me give you a hypothetical question. If, in order to kill Dekim, Iris has to die too, would you let it happen?"

"Don't be crazy. You know I wouldn't."

"Then you're not nearly as bad as I was. At one time I would have let anyone on earth die to make sure I got Dekim."

I shook my head. "No, you wouldn't."

"Your faith is touching but misplaced. First, I was the devil incarnate and now—"

"Good God I'm not saying you're an angel. You're just not a monster. And neither am I. Dekim is the monster."

"I hope you're right."

"Count on it, buddy."

I strode to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. I needed to shower and go to bed and close out everything. I hadn't needed Heero's story to cap off this horror of a day. But I had asked for it. No, I had demanded it. I had needed to know. Why had it been so important to me?

Probably simple curiosity. Heero was an important and integral part of my life now. He was helping to keep me alive. Surely it was natural for me to want to know what made him tick.

***************

Heero spread the photographs out on the table.

It was like trying to identify somebody at a masquerade ball.

A clown in full makeup, the musician with the wig and fiddle, the old bag lady with the thick veil. Even one of the teenagers was wearing a Darth Vader mask.

It could be one of them or none of them. How the hell was he to know?

Study them. A body position, an expression might trigger a fleeting memory.

He sat down at the table and began to study the pictures.

***************

CDC, Atlanta 

"Go take a nap Zechs."

Zechs looked up to see Otto standing beside him. "I will. I just want to run one more test. I don't know what the hell is wrong. The anthrax should be overwhelmed by those anti-bodies, but it's not."

"You said the first test was promising."

He nodded. "But the second showed mega resistance."

"Let me run the test for you. You haven't had any sleep for the last twenty-four hours. What good's a team if you don't use the teammates?"

"Soon."

"Noin called and told me to make you eat and rest. Do you want to get me in her bad graces?" Otto glanced down at Zechs' microscope. "And I have to admit I want to get my hands on this baby. It's interesting that they used cash to deliver the bacteria."

_Interesting._ Otto was always objective. Zechs had been like that once. Science for science's sake. It was a comfortable way to work. That comfort had gone down the drain when he'd been sent out in the field during those first years of the new HIV research. He had learned to put faces and voices to the death statistics. It had seemed to be everywhere. Those babies infected by untested blood supply had nearly destroyed him. He and Noin had been trying to have a child for the last couple of years and he had felt the pain of the parents of those babies. "Yeah, very interesting. How would you like a few of those twenties stuffed in your pay envelope?"

"Hey, don't give me a hard time just because you're beat. I didn't mutate this anthrax."

"Gomen."

"You should be. Call me if you need me." Otto walked away.

Zechs shouldn't have barked like that. Otto was a good guy. He couldn't help being what he was. Zechs was just frustrated because of the lack of progress.

No, because he was scared. What if the antibodies didn't work and this mutated strain had no cure? What if this was the Big One? Ever since viruses like HIV had appeared, he's had nightmares about the Big One, the virus or bacteria that couldn't be stopped. Someday it would rear its ugly head in some rain forest or genetics lab. It was only a matter of time. It was out there somewhere.

He just hoped to hell it wasn't on this slide in front of him.

***************

_***Gomen it took so long. I had to type this up more than once because my compie kept eating this chapter every time I typed it. -___-;;;I'm going to quickly make this one little note so that maybe the story will make a lil more sense time wise. If you haven't noticed, its based more around this time…. Prolly several years from now and definitely before the colonies. And I made Relena older than the G-boys. ^__~_


	14. Chapter 13

And Then You Die…

** **

**Chapter 13**

"Dekim went to Cheyenne. Mueller said he got a call from Morrisey before he took off," Relena told Heero on the phone the next morning. "I've sent two extra agents to Cheyenne to see if they can track him down."

Morrisey again. "I doubt if Dekim's still there. He would never have left a loose thread like Mueller hanging if he's thought Mueller could hurt him. Have you found out anything new about Morrisey?"

"We traced one of the calls he made five days ago to a motel in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We sent an agent to see what we could find out and we got lucky. Morrisey charged the room to a credit card. We may be able to monitor his future actions."

"You weren't able to trace that last call?"

"No, it was on the portable."

Brick wall. Dekim was moving and they couldn't even find Morrisey.

"What do you hear from the CDC?" Relena asked.

"Progress."

"That's not enough. The only thing that may save us is an antidote. He should be made available to them."

"He is available to them. I'm sending them a sample everyday."

"Which will stop if you get him killed. He was out on the street yesterday for God's sake."

"And he'll be out today."

"How long do you think I'll permit this, Heero? He's too valuable for you to—"

"Call me when you hear about Morrisey." Heero hung up the phone.

"Morrisey? " I asked from where I stood in the doorway.

"Dekim took off after receiving a call from him. The last report we have is that he went to Cheyenne."

"Then what are we doing here?"

"He won't be there any longer. Our best bet is finding Morrisey and squeezing the information out of him."

"If he knows anything. You said Dekim seldom confided anything to anyone."

"Morrisey knows the job he was given. That's a start."

"Did you recognize anyone in those photos?"

He shook his head.

"Then I'm going to go out and take more."

"It may not do any good."

"And it may." I grimaced. "At least I'll feel like I'm doing something. I hate just marking time."

"You don't find being bait entertaining? Relena's very interested in the entire process. She wants to put you in a nice sterile cell and throw away the key."

"Fuck Relena."

"My thought exactly." He stood up. "Twenty minutes. You show yourself, you take a few photos and then we come back."

"And I make sure no one brushes against me."

"I'm not as worried about close quarters now that I know its Lowe. He prefers a knife or a gun, and a gun isn't subtle enough in these circumstances. I'd bet on the knife."

"How reassuring." I moved toward the darkroom. "I'm glad _you're_ not worried. I'll be right back. I need to get more film."

Oh no, Heero wasn't worried. He was terrified and had been every second of that trip to the camera store the previous day. He didn't know how much longer he could go on with this.

***************

The streetlight cast shadows on the brick wall, shadows that looked vaguely like hunched gargoyles.

Interesting, I thought. I must have stared out this window across the street a hundred times. Why had I never noticed that effect before? Maybe I hadn't wanted to see gargoyles that close by.

I held the camera up to my eye and focused.

"What are you doing?" Heero asked from behind me. "Do you see someone?"

"A gargoyle."

"Nani?"

"Only a shadow across the street. But it's too good to miss."

"I told you never to stand directly in front of a window."

"I forgot." I stepped to one side.

"I would have thought you'd taken enough photos for one day. You were in the darkroom all afternoon."

"I have to do something or I'll go crazy."

"I can sympathize. I'm close to that point myself. You really missed that camera."

"Hai." I turned to look at Heero sitting in the easy chair across the room. He was in shirtsleeves, his long legs stretched before him. He should have looked relaxed, but he didn't. The edge was still there. I had never seen him really relaxed. "But no more than I would my eyes."

"Or an old friend."

I nodded.

"Don't you ever look at anything without seeing it through the lens of a camera?"

"Sometimes. Not often, I guess. Even when I don't have my camera, it's not unusual for me to see things as if I were taking the shot. Quatre said—" I stopped. So many things in my life led back to Quatre. "He used to laugh and say I was obsessed."

"Are you?"

"Maybe. Okay I guess I am. There are times when it's worse than others." The gargoyles seemed taller now, more gothic. Had the light changed? I took another shot. "I know I felt naked when I didn't have it."

"No armor?"

I looked at him. "Nani?"

"Doesn't taking the photos distance you from the situation? Keep the pain away?"

"Distance me?"

His gaze was fixed intently on my face. "When do you do it most often, Duo? When do you distance yourself?"

"I don't know."

"The bad times? L2? Tenajo?"

"Maybe." I frowned. "Back off, Heero. I don't need you to psychoanalyze me."

"Gomen, it's just a habit. You're right it's none of my business. And I didn't mean to intimate there was anything wrong with putting up barriers. We all do. I just found it interesting that you use a camera."

"And what do you use?"

"Anything I can. I improvise."

"It's not just a barrier. I _like_ what I do."

"I know. Forget what I said."

But I wouldn't forget what he had said. He was sharp and perceptive and annoyingly right too often. I had the sudden desire to disconcert him. I lifted the camera. "Smile, Heero."

I smiled myself as I caught the look of surprise on his face. It was deliciously satisfying to catch Heero off guard.

"Again."

Focus.

Shoot.

"May I ask what you're doing?"

"Taking your picture. You're a very interesting subject."

It was true. Through the lens of the camera his face was fascinating mixture of boldness and subtlety. I wish I had the proper lighting.

"Because I'm so pretty? Or do you feel the need to compare gargoyles?" He smiled sardonically and waved his hand. "Be my guest, if you want to risk that new camera. I've been known to break them."

He was relaxing just a little; the tenseness flowed out of his muscles as I watched. It was odd. I had never been able to look at Heero with any objectivity before. From our first meeting, every moment had been colored with a wild range of emotion—anger, fear, frustration…

The hand he waved was well formed I thought absently. Like the rest of him. Muscular thighs, narrow waist, broad shoulders.

Power and grace and sexuality.

I almost dropped the camera.

Sexuality? Where had that come from?

"Something wrong?" Heero's gaze had narrowed on my face.

"Nothing." I hurriedly lowered the camera, turned away and headed for the darkroom.

***************

He was feeling safe. So safe that he was even going out on the street, Dekim thought.

And Odin was doing nothing about it. He was only giving excuses.

Duo was trying to show him that his friend's death meant nothing to him. Dekim knew it had affected him. He had collapsed at the funeral home. Yet there he was, going out, taking pictures, when he should be hiding terrified. He was taunting him. The thought enraged Dekim.

It wasn't to be tolerated.

***************

The phone was ringing when we walked into the apartment the next day.

"Did you enjoy the funeral, Duo?"

Shock rippled through me. "Dekim."

Heero moved swiftly toward the kitchen.

"I'm sorry I missed it, but I was represented by one of my employees. He said you held up very well at the crypt."

"You son of a bitch." My voice was shaking. "You killed him."

"I told you I did. You should have believed me. But then I'd have been cheated of the pleasure of presenting you with such an exquisite gift. Unfortunately he was a little worse for wear, wasn't he? What did you think when you saw—"

"Shut up."

"You're upset. But then, what can you expect from Mother Nature? It was hot. We know about that heat, don't we? You must have gotten very hot running through those hills."

"But we got away from you. You lost, you bastard."

"Not because of you. You're only a boy. I would have gotten you if it hadn't been for that helicopter. Are you listening in, Heero?"

"Hai." Heero said.

"I thought you would be. You're taking very good care of him. But it's not going to do you any good. I'll still get him. The boy isn't going to stop me, but he has annoyed me. However, to show my forgiving nature I've sent him another present."

My hand tightened on the receiver. "Why don't you come and give it to me yourself?"

"I'm otherwise occupied, and you're not that important."

"The hell I'm not. You wouldn't be calling if you weren't scared shitless."

"There's a trash can one block away. Your present is on top."

He hung up.

Heero was already out of the kitchen and heading for the front door. "Stay here. I'll get it."

"I'm going with you."

"He may be setting you up."

"Then you keep me safe dammit. I'm going with you."

"You put one foot out that door and I **_swear_** I'll knock you down. I'll send an agent to get the damn thing."

He ran down the stairs, and the street door was slammed behind him. He was back in seconds. "He'll be here in a couple of minutes. He's going to set the box inside then go back to his post. Now, you stay put."

It was a long two minutes before the agent set the cardboard box inside the door.

I stared down at it.

"Don't touch it. Back away. It could be a bomb."

"It's not a bomb. He knew that's be your first thought." I licked my lips. "I made him angry. This isn't meant to kill me." I reached down for the box. "He wants to hurt me."

He knocked my hand aside. "I'll do it." He carefully lifted the lid.

Inside was a white mask. I had seen Trowa wear one like it many times when Quatre had taken me to see him perform in the circus. There was a small hole near the top, like a bullet hole. The inside was covered in a dark red stain, several red streaks ran down the front of the mask.

Blood. Fear rocked through me. "Trowa."

"Steady." Heero's hand was on my arm. "This is what Dekim wants."

"That's Trowa's mask."

"But Trowa wouldn't have taken it on a camping trip, would he?"

The relief that flooded me was so intense, my knees felt weak. "Iie. He only wore it when he preformed."

"Then he had someone go in and get it from Quatre's house. He doesn't have him Duo. He didn't hurt him."

Yet. Dekim's threat lay between us like a haunting brand. First Quatre and now his lover.

"He's out of his reach. And we have a man waiting at the ranger station. Dekim won't be able to get at him."

But how long would he remain out of his reach?

Heero was urging me gently away from the box. "I'll send the mask and box out and get the stain analyzed. It's probably animal blood."

"No, it's human blood. He wouldn't make it that easy for me."

"It's not Trowa, Duo. He just wanted to show you that you aren't out of his reach here. You could let me take you to that safe house and we'd—"

"I know what he wanted me to do." I said. And he had succeeded. This latest obscenity had frightened and hurt me. "His damn ego is hurt because he can't manage to kill a 'mere' boy." Anger ripped at me. "Well, fuck him."

"You won't go?"

"And let him win? Let him know that he scared me enough to make me run away? I'm glad I'm making the bastard angry. Maybe if he gets annoyed enough, he'll come himself. You find out why that agent who's supposed to be guarding Quatre's house let that mask be taken. And make sure there's more than one of Relena's guys at that ranger station."

"You didn't have to tell me that."

"Yes I did. Nothing's going to happen to Trowa or his sister Catherine." Oh God, the blood running down that mask… "Do you hear me?"

"I hear you." He said quietly. "I'll call Relena and chew her out for letting this happen."

I nodded jerkily. "Be sure to tell her—"

"I know what to tell her."

Of course he did. "Gomen, it's just—"

"It's just that you're so damn stubborn, you won't let me take you away from this town even though you're scared to death." He said roughly.

I was scared. Until a few minutes before, anger and numbness had shielded me like armor. But Dekim had pierced that armor and let the fear come in.

***************

"It's not Trowa's blood," Wufei said when he called the next morning. "We got his blood type from his doctor and it doesn't match."

I felt a burst of relief. "Arigatou, Wu."

"It must've been an ugly surprise. Daijoubu?"

"Just mad." And frightened. I was still a bit frightened. "As you say man, it was ugly." I hung up the phone and turned to Heero. "No match." I put on my jacket and reached for my camera. "Let's go."

"You're going back out there?"

"Nothing's changed."

He looked at me.

"He's not going to know that he upset me." I headed for the door. "I'm not going to give him that victory."

***************

More pictures.

He hadn't singled him out, but he must have five or six photographs of him now.

It shouldn't matter. Who was going to recognize him? It did matter. He had made sure no pictures had been taken of him since he had become Odin Lowe. Photographs were dangerous. People remembered a face when they couldn't remember anything else, and all kinds of technical things could be done to photographs these days.

Would he ever stop taking those fucking pictures? He thought he'd be able to take him out sooner, but Heero was always there watching. He hadn't been able to get near him, and Dekim was getting impatient. He should probably go back to his first plan and hit the apartment.

Regardless of where the hit was made he couldn't leave those photos behind. He'd have to go in and get them.

***************

"Are you satisfied?" Heero said between his teeth as we walked down the street toward my apartment. "We've been out more than two hours. Did you want to make sure they got a nice shot at you?"

I didn't answer. I had known Heero was tense all the time we had been on the street.

He opened the street door. "Well?"

He wasn't going to let it go. I started up the stairs. "Nothing happened. He has to know he can't—"

Rats.

Dozens of rats. Huge rats.

On the stairs in front of me and behind me too, scurrying wildly up and down the steps. 

I shuddered as one ran over my foot.

"Out." Heero grabbed my arm and pulled me down the steps and out onto the street.

The rats streamed out the door onto the sidewalk. Another brushed against my foot.

Agent Walker ran across the street. "What happened?"

"How the hell did they get in there?" Heero asked.

"No one was in the building. I've been watching—"

"Get them off the stairs."

Walker disappeared into the building.

I couldn't seem to stop shaking. "Dekim?"

Heero nodded. "Considering his background, I'd bet on it. He wanted to give you his one worst nightmare."

I closed my eyes.

"Are you all right?" 

"It was just the shock." I opened my eyes and moved toward the staircase. "I need to get upstairs. He'll call me. He's going to want to know what this did to me."

I passed the agent who was struggling to shoo the rats down the stairs, and unlocked the apartment door. Heero was right beside me and nudged me aside. "Let me check out the apartment first. That agent must have fouled up."

The phone rang as Heero was coming out of the darkroom. "Let me get it."

"No, he wants to talk to me. And I want to talk to him."

"So, you've come home at last. This is the third time I've called." Dekim said when I picked up. "Did you like my little surprise?"

"It was a pretty weak attempt. I knew you didn't have Trowa." I said. Be calm. "As for the rats… they didn't bother me. I like them. I had a pet rat when I was a kid."

There was a silence. "You lie."

"He was a white rat and his name was Herman. He had a cage with a treadmill and a little—"

He hung up on me.

"Did you really have a rat when you were a kid?" Heero asked.

"Yeah sure." I said sarcastically. "And I always keep a goat hidden in my bathroom." I let my breath out. "But I think he believed me."

"If he did, he'll hate you even more. You're now in league with his nemesis."  
There was a knock on the door and Heero opened it. It was Walker, and Heero said to me over his shoulder, "I'll be right back. I need to check something out."

I was glad he was gone. I hadn't wanted him to see how unsettled that latest attack had made me. I needed a moment to recover. Hell, I needed a year to recover.

First, the mental attack with Trowa's mask and then the physical one with the rats.

"There's a hole drilled in the wall that bordered the alley," Heero said as he came back into the apartment. "It could have been done anytime and Walker wouldn't have seen him from across the street." His lips tightened. "From now on there will be a guard in the alley too."

"That's the way they came in?"

He nodded. "A length of tunnel tubing was inserted. We went out, the rats were let in to wait for us."

"Odin Lowe?"

"Or one of Dekim's other men. Odin's a specialist and this is small stuff."

It hadn't seemed like small stuff to me. It was the stuff in which nightmares were made.

"If you don't like it, you know what you can do."

"Shut up, Heero. I'm not going anywhere."

"Except out in the Quarter tomorrow."

"Yup."

"Bright," he muttered. "Very bright."

***************

The next afternoon I tossed the new batch of photographs on the coffee table in front of him. "Here they are. See what you can make of them."

He leafed through the prints. "You took enough."

"Four rolls. I wanted to make sure I got him if he was out there." I plopped in a chair. "Well?"

"Nothing so far. I'll have to study them."

"We could go out again." I said disappointed.

"No!" He quickly looked down at the photos again. "The streets are starting to get too busy. We may not be able to go out again."

"The hell we won't."

"The hell we will," he said curtly. "It's not safe, dammit. We'll stay here."

Don't get angry. Try to keep it light. "And what about the missile through the window and the mamba in the drain?"

"I'll take care of them."

"We agreed the risk wasn't that much greater." I leaned forward, frowning. "You're not making sense, Heero."

"I never agreed to anything, and I'm making perfect sense. You wanted me to keep you alive. I'm doing it."

"We've been out on the street everyday and nothing's happened so far."

"We're not going out again."

"Why are you objecting now? What's different?"

"I thought he'd make a move and I could take care of him. But he's playing cat and mouse."

"Then we'll play too. And in the meantime, I'll keep on taking photos and you can—"

"No, it's too risky."

"You didn't think it was too risky before."

"Goddammit, I do now!" He swept the photographs to the floor. "Just do what I tell you!"

He had erupted like a volcano, taking me completely by surprise, shocking me. I had seen him violent before, but the violence had been cold and controlled. There was nothing cold about this outburst. The guy standing in front of me was nothing like the Heero I had come to know. "What's wrong Heero?"

"What's not wrong? Dekim's trying to feed you to the rats, the strike can come at anytime, Relena hasn't been able to find Morrisey or Dekim, and Odin Lowe is out there just waiting for me to make a wrong move so he can take you out."

"Maybe he's not even here. Maybe the informant was wrong."

"He's here." He nodded jerkily at the photos on the floor. "I just can't recognize the bastard."

"You only saw him once from a distance."

"There should be something… some way."

I knelt down to gather the photos, and he was immediately beside me. "I did it. I'll pick them up."

"Is that another one of your mother's rules?"

"It's my rule. You break something, you fix it." He set the photos on the coffee table. "At least you try. Sometimes you can't put Humpty Dumpty together again."

"Well, this particular Humpty Dumpty wasn't irreparably damaged."

He wouldn't look at me. "Gomen."

Before I could respond, he vanished into the kitchen.


	15. Chapter 14

And Then You Die…

*****Just a lil warning: very OOC Heero ahead.**

*****And yaoi-ness galore ahead… **

*****Lime… not lemon . I couldn't bring myself to do it…**

** **

**Chapter 14**

I had never seen Heero like this. He was practically pacing. I could almost feel his intensity charging the room. All evening I'd tried to keep my eyes on the pages of my book, but I was scarcely aware of what I was reading.

I finally gave up and tossed down the novel. "Anne Rice isn't holding my interest tonight. I think I'll go to bed."

He glanced at the book. "She writes about vampires, doesn't she?"

"Hai, and about New Orleans. I'm a big fan."

He smiled crookedly. "I can see why you'd want to avoid vampires at the moment. It's got to be overkill when you're living with one."

"You may take my blood but you're too scientific to be a vampire." I said lightly.

"Am I?"

I hurriedly looked away from him. "You'd know if you ever read Rice. Lestat is definitely not scientific. He's a very complex vampire with—"

The phone rang and I automatically tensed. I picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Heero. I need to talk to Heero."

Not Dekim. I tried to mask my relief with a shrug as I handed Heero the phone. "I vaguely recall a time when I actually got normal telephone calls. I think its Zechs Marquise. Talk about vampires…"

I stood up and wandered over to the window. The shadow gargoyle seemed smaller tonight. I wonder what it looked like just before the streetlights went off in the morning. Maybe I should set my alarm and see, I thought absently.

"I have to take a sample."

I turned to see Heero hanging up the phone. "Why? You sent one off this morning."

"The closer to a break through he gets, the greedier he gets."

"And how close is he getting?"

"It's hard to tell. In developing any antidote, it's usually one step forward, two steps back." 

"He sounded excited."

"He thinks maybe he took a step and a half forward on the last test." He paused. "You don't have to do it. I can wait until morning."

I shrugged. "Give it to him." I sat down at the dining room table and rolled up my left sleeve. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters." He took the kit out of the desk drawer. "Do you think I'd put you through this if it didn't matter to a lot of people."

"I didn't mean—" I gave up. "Just take the sample and let me go to bed Heero."

"That's what I'm doing."

I always hated to watch the blood enter the tube, so I fastened my gaze on his dark head. The muscles at the sides of his neck were rigid as he carefully inserted the needle.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked in a low voice.

"You never hurt me."

"Yes, I do." His gaze never left the needle. "But maybe not this time." He took out the needle and put it on the table. "Gomen nasai. It's over now."

"Why are you apologizing? It's no big deal. I gave more at the last Red Cross blood drive."

"But I wasn't the one who took it." He held my arm while he applied pressure, then dabbed at the tiny drop of blood at the puncture site. "I don't like to—" He stopped staring down at my arm.

"Something wrong?"

"Yes." He said thickly. "Something's wrong." He slowly lifted my arm and pressed his lips to the wound.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I wasn't supposed to feel this lust, but it was there.

He lifted his head and looked at me. "That's what's wrong." His lips slid down my forearm to the veins at my wrist. A wave of heat moved through me. "I want it. I've wanted it for a long time. Sometimes just the smell of you—" He pressed his lips to my palm.

"Yameru." I whispered. "I can't—" But I wanted _him_. He was scarcely touching me and my body was responding. "It would… interfere."

"It's already interfering. It can't get much worse. I can't—" He stopped, his gaze fixed on my face. "No?" He slowly released my arm. "You're sure?"

I wasn't sure about anything. I was confused and uncertain and… aroused. Oh yes, definitely aroused.

He stood up and picked up the needle and kit. "Don't worry, I'm not going to push," he said jerkily. "I've already taken too much from you." He moved toward the kitchen "I'll get this sample ready for Zechs."

I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair. I wanted him. I wanted him to touch me. I wanted him inside me. I hadn't felt like this since those first few heady weeks with— No, I couldn't compare him to Heero. I couldn't compare anyone with Heero.

"I told you not to worry about it."

I opened my eyes to see Heero standing by the front door with the familiar sample package in his hand. "If you don't want me you don't want me, but don't feel guilty. This has nothing to do with what happened to Quatre." He opened the front door. "I'm going to go downstairs and give this to Agent Walker to ship tonight. You go on to bed."

Don't feel guilty.

Go on to bed.

He was always telling me what to do, dammit. He always thought he knew best. From the very beginning he had tried to guide me down the path he wanted me to go.

Except tonight. He'd backed away. He'd given me a choice.

*************** (this is more Heero's p.o.v. until Duo starts talking. ^^;;; hopefully no one gets confused)

The lights were out when Heero came back into the apartment twenty minutes later.

Duo had gone to bed.

Or maybe he was just hiding out in his room, trying to pretend what had happened between them didn't happen, trying to pretend that he didn't exist.

He was a fool. He knew all about discipline. He had learned it in the hardest school. Why hadn't he used it tonight? Why had he put Duo on the spot? It was the wrong time. Not that any time would be right. Not for him. Not for them. Too much had happened that—

"Are you going to stand there all night, Heero?" I called out. "Come to bed."

He went rigid and slowly turned toward my bedroom. "Duo?"

"Who do you think it is? There are only two of us in the apartment." I paused, and when I spoke again my voice had become unsteady. "And one of us is scared to death about this."

Heero moved toward me.

"Two of us Duo," he whispered. "Two of us."

***************

New Orleans was suiting Odin extremely well. The crowded streets were always convenient to his profession.

The man was right ahead of him. Gray suit, no tie, balding head.

Odin dodged a drunken couple coming out of a bar. His pace quickened. He couldn't lose this quarry. Dekim was upset, but this should pacify the bastard.

The man in the gray suit was heading down Bourbon toward Canal Street. His car was probably parked in one of the lots on Canal.

Odin cut down to Royal, then ran at full speed before doubling back to Bourbon.

He was breathing heavily as he stepped into the alley.

He waited.

A woman in a short skirt and leopard-patterned high heels passed the alley.

He waited.

Gray suit, bald head.

There.

The pencil-slim blade of his knife cut through the gray suit straight to the heart even as he dragged the man into the alley.

***************

"Heero."

He moved closer, his mouth trailing kisses downward. "Nani?"

"I want my camera."

He raised his head staring at me incredulously. "I beg your pardon?"  
"Will you get me my camera?"

"I will not. I'm otherwise occupied."

"I want to take your picture."

"Later." He suddenly chuckled. "Though I'm sure that you've discovered something through all this…"

I rolled my eyes. But I had to admit that I _did_ find out something rather stunning about him. Sex with Heero was glorious fun. After the first intense passionate release he had become almost playful. It had been totally unexpected. "I want to take a picture of the vainest guy I know…" I gasped as he reached down and massaged me. "I don't know if I should be pandering to your van—" I couldn't talk anymore. My climax was mounting.

"Pander to me Duo," he whispered. "I need it. I need you"

*************** (^^;; yeah I admit that was a tad weird…)

I nestled in closer staring out dreamily into the darkness. I felt small curled up with Heero. It was kinda strange how I didn't seem to resent that thought. In fact it felt… cozy, nice. "What time is it?"

Heero looked at the luminous dial of the clock on the nightstand. "Four thirty-five." He brushed a kiss on my temple. "Why? Do you have another appointment?"

"Don't be so flip. It's not as if I'm not a busy guy. You're just lucky you happened to catch me between jobs."

"Yesh, that's the only lucky thing that's happened to me lately."

A little of my contentment ebbed away as memory intruded. No, there hadn't been good luck in my life lately either.

"Don't think about it." He drew me closer. "To hell with—"

"Why do you compare yourself to a gargoyle, Heero? I don't agree."

He was a silent a moment before letting out a small chuckle, "Actually Wu doesn't think so either… but with my past history smeared as it is… I'd say I'm about as close to a gargoyle as one gets. When you think about it—"

"What's your real name Heero?" I questioned absently.

"Nani?"

"Well, Heero Yuy couldn't be your real name. Dekim would have recognized it from Nakoa. I think when one sleeps with another they should at least know their real name."

"How conservative of you."

"Is it Deuteronomy? Rumpelstilskin?"

"Midorikawa Hikaru. [1]"

"Midorikawa Hikaru, huh?" I shook my head. "That could take some getting used to."

"Don't get used to it. I told you, he doesn't exist anymore. [2]"

"Haven't you ever been tempted to resurrect him? I'd think that you'd—"

The phone on the bedside table rang.

I stiffened.

He reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello." Then he sighed, sat up. And turned on the light. "For God's sake, Zechs, this better be good news. Do you know what time it is?"

Zech Marquise again? The man had to be a fanatic. I sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"What do you mean? I sent it. It should have reached you by one at the latest… How do I know? … Okay, I'll call Relena." Heero hung up. "Zechs didn't get the sample. We may have to take another one. I'll check with Relena to see what the holdup is." 

"Great." I made a face as I got out of bed and reached for my robe. "Just what I need to crown the evening. I'll go get a snack."

Heero came into the kitchen a couple of minutes later. "Well, do I have to shed more blood, or did they find the—" I broke off when I registered the look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Relena didn't know anything about the sample. Walker never notified him. As far as she knew, Walker was still on guard outside the apartment. They're looking for him now."

I swallowed. "Maybe it's just some small mistake."

"Maybe."

"But you don't think so." I hesitated. "I don't understand. It doesn't—"

I jumped when the digital phone in Heero's hand rang.

Heero punched a button and identified himself. He hung up a few moments later. "They found Walker in an alley five blocks from here. He's dead."

I stared at him in bewilderment. "Dead?"

"A stiletto in the back. No sample on him."

A stiletto. "Odin?"

Heero nodded.

"But it doesn't make sense. Why would he kill over the sample? He must know we'd just send another one."

"Maybe Odin thought the delay would please Dekim."

And I had been the one who had insisted that all CDC calls come in over my regular phone line. Walker might be alive still if Odin hadn't been able to monitor my phone.

"Stop it." Heero said roughly. "Walker was an agent. Risk goes with the job. And his death might not have anything to do with the call. It could be that Dekim wanted to give you another scare."

"Then why take the sample?" I crossed my arms over my chest to keep them from trembling. "It was my fault, dammit."

"Okay, it was your fault. But not because of anything you did. It's because of the immunity factor. Dekim and Odin are getting desperate because, for once, time may be on our side."

"Maybe. Zechs isn't sure. You're not sure."

"Pull yourself together. You'll need it. Relena's on her way over."

"Why?"

"To hit you at your weakest point. She knows she can't budge **_me_**, so she'll try to persuade you to change your mind about staying here."

"I won't change my mind." I felt a sudden rush of anger. Not only were Odin and Dekim trying to kill me but Relena was coming to bully me. "Relena can do her job and catch the bastard." 

He smiled. "You tell her that."

"I will." I sat down at the table and pushed up the sleeve of my robe. "Now, get that damn kit and take another sample."

****************

"It was sheer stupidity." Dekim said coldly. "Did you think such a small delay was going to help me? It's the boy I need dead. You're a grave disappointment to me Odin."

"It will be accomplished, but when I heard how close—"

"You heard what they wanted you to hear. Do you think Heero would permit such carelessness?"

"He's always with him. It's going to take more time than I—"

"I don't have time." Dekim tried to control his anger. "Do you hear me? I don't have time. That's what this is all about."

"A few more days."

In a few more days, that Zechs Marquise at the CDC might come up with the antidote, Dekim thought with frustration. And then his entire plan would do down the tubes.

Think.

There had to be the way.

***************

Wufei arrived at the apartment before Relena got there.

"He's all right?" He asked Heero.

"I'm fine." I called from across the room. "Does everyone think I'm going to fall apart because of this?"

"Well, Relena's hoping," Wufei answered. "I got the impression she wouldn't mind losing Walker if it would push you into her camp."

"That can't be true," I said repulsed. "What kind of woman is she? Is that the type CIA produces?"

"Don't blame the organization for Relena." Heero said. "She's an ambitious girl with her back against the wall. A strike by Dekim could ruin her political ambitions."

"And forget the people who could die." I stood up and moved toward the bedroom. If I was going to do another battle with Relena, I didn't want the disadvantage of a bathrobe and mussed hair. "I'm going to shower and get dressed. Call me when Relena gets here."

It was only a little before six I realized as I walked into the bathroom. It seemed impossible that merely an hour and a half earlier I had been lying in bed with Heero. Yet the evidence of intimacy was still there: the rumpled covers, the impression of our heads on the pillows.

Not only sex, but intimacy, I thought as I stepped into the shower. The fact was shocking. What would have happened if I wouldn't have been so abruptly jarred out of that crazy euphoria? It was probably for the best. He had proved to be a great lover, but I was too vulnerable just then. I couldn't handle a relationship with a man as complicated and tormented as Heero.

Not when I was tormented by the same demons.

"Mr. Maxwell."

Christ, Relena was knocking on my bathroom door. 

"Gomen, but I'm limited for time and I need to talk to you."

I turned off the shower. "I'll be out in a minute. I hope you won't mind if I dry off first."

"I know it's an inconvenience." A pause. "I'll wait in the living room."

I was surprised she hadn't invaded the bathroom and jerked me out of the shower. The more I came in contact with Relena, the more she annoyed me.

I ran a hand through my damp hair as I strode into the living room a few minutes later.

"Gomen." Heero said. "Short of breaking her neck, I couldn't have kept her from trying to hurry you."

Breaking her neck wouldn't have been such a bad idea. "Did you guys give her the new sample?"

Heero nodded. "But she's not satisfied with the milk she wants the cow."

"What a way with words," Wufei murmured. "You don't resemble a cow in the slightest Duo. Well… maybe perhaps there's a cow somewhere named Duo. But I've only seen commercials with Bessie the cow or some such—"

"You must see why it can't go on like this," Relena cut in. "It's not safe for you and it's not safe for the public either. Not to mention my own mess. Walker has a family. Do you want to be the one to tell them that—"

"Stop right there." Heero said.

"It's okay. No, I don't want to tell them," I said unevenly. "I feel terrible about him. But it doesn't change the fact that my staying here is still the best way to get to Dekim. Unless you can show me that you have a better way. I'm staying."

Relena whirled on Heero. "For God's sake, tell him to get out of here. You must have some influence with him."

Heero shook his head.

"Damn you." Relena's voice was shaking with anger. "It's your fault Heero. Do you think I don't know you're using him so you can get Dekim? You don't care that I'm going to be crucified. I won't let you do it. No way."

She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

"I think she's a little upset." Wufei shook his head reprovingly. "Really Heero, setting up a poor defenseless guy like Duo. It's deplorable."

"I'm surprised she thinks I could manipulate you. We've all been dancing on your strings."

"I can see why she does." I glanced at the bedroom. Relena might be a selfish, bitch, but she wasn't stupid. She had been in my bedroom and had seen that two people had obviously occupied the bed. She clearly thought Heero was using a sexual relationship to influence me. "But she's mistaken."

"Yes, she is." Heero's gaze was on my face. "Completely."

"I think this is the time I offer to furnish breakfast." Wufei rose to his feet. "And since I can't cook, I'll go down to the Café De Monde and bet a bag of beignets to go." He checked his watch. "I walk very slowly, but I should be back in an hour or so."

"You don't have to leave," I said.

But he was already gone.

"Last night wasn't about using you, Duo." Heero said quietly.

"Don't be stupid." I walked over to the window. "I know that."

"Then why aren't you looking at me?"

"I feel… awkward. I don't have one-night stands."

"For God's sake this isn't a one-night stand."

"It can't be anything else." I said haltingly. "It's crazy to think the two of us could have any type of relationship."

There was a silence behind me. "Oh, then you've chalked me up as another one of your mistakes? Like that philandering boyfriend?"

Had I hurt him? Christ, I didn't want to hurt him.

"I wouldn't be a mistake for you Duo. We'd be good together."

I shook my head.

"Look at me dammit."

"It's not your fault. I was lonely and I needed…"

"_This_ is a mistake."

"Don't make this difficult for me, Heero." I said shakily.

A silence.

"We'll go to bed again, you know." He said. "But you don't have to worry about me jumping you, but I won't try to stop it when it happens." I heard him move away. "I'm going to take a shower. I still smell of you and it's driving me crazy."

The tension didn't leave me even after he'd disappeared. His last words had brought the night tumbling back to me. Close it out. I had done the right thing. I couldn't afford to have my focus blurred. I couldn't think about Heero.

I had to remember Quatre.

***************

"Are you sure he's competent?" Treize's voice was edged. "I still think one of my own men would have been better. Their loyalty can't be bought."

Dekim's hand tightened on the receiver. That loyalty was just the quality Dekim wanted to avoid. The reason he'd wasted so much time on finding Catalonia was that he'd known he couldn't control any of Trieze's men. Bribery and threats would work beautifully on everyone but a fanatic. "Trey is quite brilliant and your men are too valuable to waste on his task. You're wanted by the authorities here in the U.S. and you need them for protection. I hope you've found a safe location?"

"A farm outside Kansas City. And you should worry about yourself. You move from motel to motel with no guards to watch your back."

"I'm accustomed to taking care of myself. I prefer not to risk betrayal. That's always a possibility." 

"And the boy. If my men had gone after him, he would not still be alive."

Dekim's smile faded. "Heero knew all of your men. And they knew him. It would have presented problems." Heero would have gathered them up and squeezed everything they knew from them. Odin had not proved effective, but at the least he had not been caught.

"And you'll be glad to know I've arranged to personally supervise the matter myself."

"I can't move yet. I need three more days."

"You'll get them." He hung up the phone.

Three days.

Dekim could feel the tightness in his shoulders and shrugged to loosen them. He mustn't let the pressure get to him. He had planned too long for the moment at hand. Nothing must go wrong. He could not permit anything to stop him now.

The boy was just another barrier to over come.

And if you couldn't attack a barrier from the front, you just went around and attacked from the rear.

Three days…

**************

[1] – If you haven't already guessed I used Heero's oh so adorable V.A.'s name for his real name 

[2] – Midorikawa Hikaru doesn't exist anymore ;____________; NAAAAAAH!!! That's only why we all (well maybe not all you ^^;;;) saw him at Otakon 2001 *_____* Midorikawa Hikaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!! *glompies him again* [M.H. :^___^;;; *waves*] ^_______________________________^

*bows* forgive me my fellow loyal loving FFN readers/writers! *puppy dog eyes* I said I wouldn't fade and I did. . Part of the reason was my compie died and it took me over a week to revive it to semi-working conditions. And Secondly… school started thus taking up more time… hopefully my compie will now start typing more than 2 letter per minute and I can make better progress… but until then I will glomp Midorikawa Hikaru and make him sing Take Off To The Sky!LOL


	16. Chapter 15

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…. I at the moment don't care… and I also realize that Noin is basically her last name… but I'm lazy like that ^^;;;

-- And to clear something up really quick…. Later on to show that I'm switching perspectives I used a "***" instead of my long line of asterisks to show scene change…. Right now when I say that it prolly doesn't make sense… but once you get there it may make more sense…. If you don't understand what I mean (I don't blame ya… lol) and I wouldn't really worry about it ^_~

Chapter 15

**Day One**

**Atlanta**

**6:30 a.m.**

"I suppose you won't be going to Alison's party tonight." Noin made a face. "You just don't want to dress up in a suit and tie."

"Yeah, I arranged for Heero to drop this mess in my lap so I could get out of going to a party." Zechs gulped down the last of his orange juice.

"Just because you don't like my sister is no reason to slight her daughter."

"I'll give Alison a terrific present."

"But you don't like my sister, do you?"

Zechs was too tired to deny it. "She's a snob. She thinks you married beneath you. Which means she's also stupid."

"Maybe. At times like this I tend to doubt it. You haven't been home for three days."

He leered at her. "But I was home last night."

"For four hours, and only because it was my fertile time."

He stood up and gave her a kiss on the nose. "I think we did it. Nine months from now we'll be changing diapers."

"_I'll_ be changing diapers. You'll probably still be at the center playing with your nasty little bugs." She watched him grab his briefcase and head for the door. "Just look at you. Why couldn't you have left that work for the little time you came home?"

"Gomen. I wanted to check some results in the car back to the office."

"Just drop in for an hour at the party?"

"I can't, babe. I'm too close."

"What about Otto? Can't he carry on without you?"

"Maybe. But speed's important right now. You know I wouldn't miss Alison's party if I could help it."

She nodded resignedly and followed him. "Okay, I'll make your excuses." She grabbed him as he started out the door. "Come back here." She cradled his face in her hands. "Definitely a stud." She kissed him. "Now, don't work so damn hard. I don't want you having a stroke before the kid gets here."

"No chance. We're almost there." He hugged her and then started down the porch steps. "Hell, maybe I'll even get to the party."

"Fat chance." She frowned as she saw the gray Ford parked at the curb. "I was going to take those policemen some coffee. I forgot."

"We can stop somewhere."

"Paul does the driving, right?"

"Jim does the driving. Paul is his partner."

"Why the policemen, Ed? Why aren't you driving yourself? Is it Ebola or something?"

He shook his head, "I told you, I'm a very important man. The president, the mayor, and I all need police escorts." He winked at her. "When this is all over, we'll have to be sure and tell your sister."

She smiled. "She's okay. She just doesn't understand."

"Go on inside. It's chilly out here."

"My robe's warm. The air feels good."

Zechs could feel her gaze on him as he walked toward the car. He shouldn't have promised he might make the party, but he'd felt guilty. Noin put up with a hell of a lot. Maybe next month he'd take her away for a vacation. With any luck, the antidote would be ready in less than a week. The last test had proved very promising. Promising, hell, it had sent him over the moon with excitement. It wasn't often that a scientist got a chance to stop a disease in its tracks.

"Hi guys." He hopped into the back seat of the car and slammed the door. "We'll have to stop somewhere to get you your coffee. Noin was-"

No response. Jim and Paul were both looking straight ahead. A thin line of blood welled slowly from the back of Paul's collar.

"_Shit._"

Zechs reached for the door handle.

He never heard Noin's scream.

***************

"You're sure?"

I froze in my chair. I had never seen such a look of pain on Heero's face.

"Yeah, I'll go. You're right it's my job." He hung up the phone.

"Relena?"

He nodded. "I've got to go to Atlanta."

"Why?"

"Zechs is dead."

"What?" I whispered.

"His car blew up. He and two officers were killed in the blast." His fist crashed down on the chair. "Son of a _bitch_."

"He was your friend."

"We went to college together. I went to his wedding. Oh, yes, some friend I am," he said bitterly. "I bulldoze him into taking on the project. I didn't think he'd be a target. Not if Relena arranged security for him."

"Odin?"

"I don't know. He likes the knife, but he's used explosives before. It might be Odin or one of Trieze's people."

"How does this affect the research?"

"It's got to set it back. It was a team project but Zechs was team leader." He stood up and strode toward the door. "So Dekim got a delay. The bastard couldn't get you, so he went after Zechs."

I flinched. "I wish there was something I could do. I'm sorry, Heero."

"That you're still alive? Don't worry, I'm sure Dekim has plans to change that. Well, he's not going to get you. I'll be back tonight. I have to check out the situation with the research and see Zechs's wife. Relena's called Wufei and he'll be over in five minutes. I'll wait for him downstairs, but I won't leave until he gets here."

"You can go. It's only a few minutes."

"It took less than a minute for them to incinerate Zechs." He looked over his shoulder. "If you want to help me, you'll stay inside the apartment today."

I nodded. "Whatever you say."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever I say." The door closed behind him.

I had met Zechs Marquise only once, but I had a vivid memory of looking back at him as he stood in the rain in the parking lot. He had been frightened, but that hadn't stopped him.

And now he was dead. Dekim had killed him as he had killed Quatre and all those other-

A knock on the door.

"Just a minute." I got up and moved across the room. I paused with my hand on the lock. "Wu?"

"Relena."

Great. She always seemed to be hovering over me like a vulture when something bad happened. I opened the door. "Where's Wufei?"

She smiled. "He'll be here shortly. I intercepted him and asked him to wait downstairs while we had a talk."

"I don't want to talk. We've said everything there is to say."

She came into the apartment and closed the door. "Zechs's death is the final straw. We can't delay much longer. You have to trust me to take care of you."

"I don't have to do any such thing. I don't trust you. I trust myself."

"And Heero."

I gazed directly into her eyes. "And Heero."

"You feel safe with him?"

"Will you leave, Miss. Relena?"

"You shouldn't feel safe. He's a dangerous man. He's using you. He's using all of us. He's used Zech Marquise, and you know how that turned out."

"I didn't hear you object to Heero using Zechs."

"But Heero's a driven man. Sometimes I think he's unbalanced."

"We're a good match. I'm driven too."

"Then let me help you. You don't need Heero. Believe me you don't want Heero." She smiled persuasively as she stepped closer. "Just be patient and hear me out."

***************

"I nagged him," Noin whispered. "I wanted him to go to a party. I knew how tired he was, and I still nagged him."

Heero's hand closed on hers.

"I thought it was important." Tears were running down her face. "I thought a damn party was important."

"It was important." Heero said."

"I should have- Oh, shit." She buried her face in his chest. "Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?"

Christ, this was killing him. "You had many goods years. Zechs loved you. He didn't care about-" 

"I wanted a kid. That's why he came home last night. He should have stayed at the center. He would have been safe." She raised her head. "It's crazy. None of this makes sense. He was a scientist. No one blows up scientists. That happens to politicians or evangelists or Mafia bosses. Not to men like Zechs."

"Has someone called your family?"

"I told my sister not to come. She and Zechs didn't get along."

"Someone else?"

"My mother's flying in from Rhode Island." She pushed him away and sat up straight. "Gomen, I'm embarrassing you. You don't know what to do. Hell, I don't know what to do either."

"You're not embarrassing me."

"Sure I am. You never did know how to handle--" She hesitated. "It was what he was working on, wasn't it? The stuff you gave him to do."

"Hai."

"And it killed him."

"Hai."

"He was your friend," she whispered. "Why?"

"It was important."

"Important enough for him to die?"

Her every word was like a whiplash, "I thought he'd be safe, Noin."

"He wasn't safe." She was rocking back and forth. "He wasn't safe. It was a mistake. You made a mistake."

"I know," He said hoarsely. "I know I did."

"And I did too. I made a terrible mistake."

"You didn't make a mistake. He wouldn't have thought you were nagging him about that party."

"Iie, not about that. The baby. Oh, God, what if I have a baby?" Her eyes were swimming with tears as she whispered, "I couldn't stand it. It would kill me. I couldn't stand to have a baby without Zechs here."

***************

"What about the project?" Relena demanded when Heero answered his phone on the way to the Atlanta airport.

"The team is in shock, but everyone is scrambling to regroup. Otto will take over, but some of the papers were lost in the blast."

"How long are they set back?"

"I don't know. But Otto's a god man and he seems confident."

He wished he could say something more positive. This was Relena's cue to push for moving Duo, and he braced himself for battle.

No battle. Relena changed the subject. "I just heard from my man who's tracking Morrisey. A week ago the Majestic Hotel in Cheyenne requested a guarantee on his credit card. We checked with the hotel and they still have a John Morrisey registered."

Excitement flared through Heero.

"You could fly straight from Atlanta," Relena continued. "I thought you'd want to go get him yourself."

He did want to go. Hell, he was desperately eager to go. Morrisey might be the key to Dekim, and he was afraid that any one of Relena's men might let him slip through his fingers.

But that would mean Duo...

"I can't leave Duo right now. When I get to New Orleans, I'll ask Wufei to go get Morrisey."

There was a silence. "Well, let me know if you change your mind."

"I won't change my mind. He hung up the phone. Relena's mildness had been unusual. Ordinarily, Heero could predict which way Relena was going to jump, but Relena surprised him this time.

He didn't like it.

***************

**6:15 p.m.**

"You look like hell," Wufei said when Heero walked into the apartment. "Bad?"

"It couldn't have been much worse."

"You know how sorry I am."

Yeah, he knew. The whole world was sorry, but it didn't bring Zechs back. Heero's gaze went to the bedroom. "Where's Duo? Is he in his room?"

Wufei shook his head. "I wish he were. He's been in his darkroom since I got to the apartment."

"His darkroom? Has he been working?"

Wufei shook his head. "I don't think so. Relena came to see him."

Heero stiffened. "And she upset him?"

"Whatever she said must have been a knockout punch."

_I feel safe there._

He remembered what he had said about his darkroom. Whatever Relena had told him had sent him fleeing for safety.

He should have expected it. Relena had stepped in the minute she'd seen her opportunity. Everything else was toppling down around him. Why not this too?

"Should I leave?" Wufei asked.

"No, stay." He started down the hall. "I'll go see him."

***

Heero stopped outside of the darkroom. Do it. Face him. He braced himself and then knocked on the door. "May I come in, Duo? We need to talk."

"You bet we do." I threw open the door. My eyes blazing, I drew back a hand and hit him. "You son of a bitch."

"Duo, I didn't mean--"

"The _hell_ you didn't." I hit him again. Tears were suddenly running down my cheeks. "You did this. None of this should have happened. Quatre shouldn't have died." I hit him again. "Why couldn't you have left us alone?"

"Gomen nasai," Heero said. "I never meant to hurt you. I thought it was safe."

"You sent me to Tenajo. You let me take my best friend. Do you know how guilty I've felt since he died? You did it all you bastard." I was sobbing so hard; I could barely get the words out. "Quatre died..."

"He wasn't supposed to go with you. You were on assignment. You were supposed to go alone."

"And you arranged it. Relena said you pulled strings at the magazine and mapped out the assignment. You wanted me to go to Tenajo."

A muscle jerked in his left cheek. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Didn't Relena tell you?"

"All she could talk about was how you set me up and how I should trust only her." I took a step closer and said between my teeth, "You tell me Heero. You tell me why you wanted me dead."

"I didn't want you dead. I knew there was a good chance you'd survive."

"You couldn't know that I'd--" My eyes widened. "You _did_ know. My God, you knew about the immunity. But how could you?"

"L2."

I stared at him stunned.

"You got a very low dose of the mutated anthrax in L2. It was much weaker than the strain Dekim used in Tenajo." He added grimly. "But it was strong enough to kill everyone in the village."

"You're saying L2 was another testing ground?"

"The first. It was a perfect scheme for Dekim. He supplied the anthrax to the guerillas, and they sent it into the village in a food shipment."

I shook my head. "No, it's not true. Everyone was butchered. I was there. I saw it."

"It was part of the deal. The guerillas went later and made it look like a massacre."

"It _was_ a massacre."

He shook his head.

"You knew about it?" I whispered. "You knew about the babies?"

"No, I was with Trieze at the time. L2 was strictly Dekim's show. But I found out about it later."

"And you did nothing."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked harshly. "All right, I did nothing. Just as I did nothing after Nakoa. Because there was no proof." He paused. "But after L2 I thought we might have an edge. When you were in the hospital in L2, I had them take blood tests. You'd developed immune antibodies to the weaker strain of the anthrax Dekim used in L2."

"You were at the hospital in L2?"

"I had to know. I had to be sure."

"You were there all the time."

"Hai."

"My driver survived too."

"We checked him out. He wasn't immune. You must have had more contact with the bacteria as you moved from room to room at the orphanage. You were our only hope."

"If you knew I was immune, why didn't you do something about it? Why didn't you take some damn blood and try to save Tenajo?"

"Dekim considered L2 a failure and continued mutating the strain. But we didn't know what those new mutations were. So developing an antidote beforehand would have been useless."

"So you sent me to Tenajo."

"You had to be exposed. I had to make sure you were immune."

"And one more death didn't make any difference."

"Hell, yes. It made a difference. But I couldn't let it stop me."

"You killed Quatre."

"You were the only one suppose to go to Tenajo. Dammit, I had no intention of exposing him."

"You killed him."

"All right, I killed him. It was my fault."

"You killed him and you lied to me and you fucked me." I stared at hi min disgust. "And I let you. I let you do it all."

"I didn't fuck you. I made love to you." He took a step toward me. "Duo, it wasn't--"

"Don't you _touch_ me." I backed away. "No wonder you were so protective and kind to me. You were feeling guilty. God, I want to kill you. I want to cut your heart out."

"You'll have to wait in line." He said wearily.

"Get out of my apartment, you son of a bitch."

"Odin Lowe is still out there."

"I don't care."

"I care." He paused. "Are you going to let Relena take you to--"

"I'm not letting Relena take me anywhere. I don't trust her any more than I trust you. Get out." My voice was shaking. "I can't even stand looking at you."

"Duo this is just what Odin and Dekim want."

"Get _out_."

I slammed the door of the darkroom in his face.

***

Heero hands clenched into fists at his sides. It was what he expected. He had always known he would eventually find out. But he hadn't known it would hurt so much.

He strode back into the living room.

"Relena blew the whistle?" Wufei asked. "He knows about the setup?"

"He knows everything. He wants me out." He went to the guest bedroom and took out his suitcase. "Which means you're in. He can't be left alone."

Wufei followed him. "I didn't promise I'd be in for the long haul, Heero."

He threw his clothes into the suitcase. "Do you want him dead?"

"Relena will--"

"You keep him away from Relena. She was supposed to be protecting Zechs Marquise, and Zechs 

Marquise is dead. Do you think Relena will keep him any safer?"

"What are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do." He slammed the suitcase shut. "I'm going to Cheyenne after Morrisey. Relena finally tracked him down. Call Relena and tell her I'm on my way." Not that she needed to be told. She had known Duo would not let Heero within a mile of him after what she'd told him. He wanted to break the interfering bitch's neck. "I just hope to hell it's not a wild-goose chase." He paused. "Will you stay, Wufei? Will you take care of him? We need him. He's... valuable."

In more ways than one, evidently." Wufei nodded his head. "I'll take care of him."

***************

God, it hurt.

I huddled myself in the corner of the darkroom, my arms wrapped around my knees.

Why had I trusted him? I knew he didn't care about anything or anyone but getting Dekim. He had even warned me not to trust him.

But I hadn't listened. And I had let him use me as he had used everyone else. He had sent me to Tenajo and Quatre had died.

I felt as if I were bleeding inside. I hadn't been stupid enough to actually let him mean anything to me. So why was I curled up like a wounded animal n the dark?

It was shock. I would be better soon. I would stay here for just a little while longer and let myself heal. Then I would go out and function perfectly well.

Just a little longer.

***************

Heero was gone.

It was the best chance Odin might have. He wasn't worried about the guards downstairs. He could dispose of them with no problem. Dekim had been very pleased about his deftness with those policemen in Atlanta. It was Heero who had been the big stumbling block, and Heero had left.

The window of opportunity couldn't stay open long.

But it might be long enough.

***************

Over two hours later Wufei was sitting in front of the television set when I came down into the living room.

"Would you like some dinner?" Wufei snapped off the set. "It's after nine and you haven't had anything to eat all day.

I shook my head. "I'm going to bed. I'm tired."

"I can see why."

I looked at him. "You knew about it."

Wufei nodded. "Most of it. I learned the rest from Relena after I got here."

"It seems everyone knew but me. I find that as unforgivable as the rest."

"You'd be surprised what you can forgive." He held up his hand. "I'm not trying to persuade you that Heero was right."

"There's no way you could."

"I'm just saying we all have our priorities. Heero isn't all black and he does care whether you live or die."

"That's why he sent me to Tenajo."

Wufei sighed. "This obviously isn't the time for me to be talk to you." He stood up. "I have to go downstairs and ask one of the guards to go to my flat and pack a suitcase for me. I'll stand his duty downstairs until he gets back. I shouldn't be long."

"You don't have to move in here. I'll be all right."

"I promised Heero. And my apartment was getting lonely anyway." He paused as he opened the door. "Are you going to drag me out on the street tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Would it do any good to tell you to lie low for a few days?"

"No, it wouldn't."

"I was afraid of that."

"Wufei." I had just thought of something. "I'll need to send a blood sample by tomorrow morning. Heero usually took it."

"Gomen, I'm not qualified. I'd probably butcher you." He paused. "Zechs's death has probably thrown everything into turmoil anyway. It may take a little while to regroup."

"They can't do anything with the blood samples. The sooner they get it, the better."

He nodded. "There's got to be an agent who can take blood. I'll have Relena send someone over."

"Arigatou."

"Thank _you_. You're the one that's doing us the favor."

"It's not a favor." Dekim had killed Zechs Marquise and I'd be damned if I'd give him more. "Have the agent come early. I want that sample in Atlanta by noon."

Wufei saluted. "Yes, Sir."

"Oh, and could I borrow your portable phone? I always used Heero's and I don't want to use the apartment phone when I call to check on Iris."

"No problem." He handed me the phone. "I'd much rather supply you with this than rob you of your blood."

I moved toward the bedroom. After I showered I'd call the hospital and check on Iris. Then I'd go to bed and try to sleep.

Who was I fooling? I was exhausted but there was no way I was going to be able to sleep. My nerves were as raw as when Heero had left.

So don't waste time.

I went back to the darkroom and gathered all the pictures I'd taken since I'd returned to New Orleans. Heero had not recognized anyone, but maybe Id get lucky and catch... something.

Twenty minutes later I wearily stacked the photos on the nightstand. Nothing. There was no use staring at the faces any longer. Everything was blurring before my eyes. Hell, some of the photos had been a little blurry too. I must have-- 

Why would they be blurred? I couldn't remember any unusual circumstances to account for blurring.

She riffled through the pictures. Only four shots had any blurring.

The clown. The tall clown with green hair and a white-painted face. In each shot he was moving away from the camera at the exact moment I had taken the picture.

Coincidence? Of had he been trying to avoid the camera? Even with a disguise, had he felt uneasy?

I ran to the darkroom, got my magnifying glass, placed it over the clown's face.

"Duo." Wufei was knocking on the front door.

I ran to open it. "I've found Odin. I think I know who he is."

Wufei set down his suitcase and took the photos I was handing him. "The clown?"

"He's been there every day. The shot from the first day doesn't have any blurring, but every day after that he tried to avoid being photographed."

"Possible." He smiled. "Very possible. It's worth having Relena pick him up."

I watched him as he talked to Relena. They would pick up the suspect, and if I was right, I wouldn't have to worry about a murderer on my doorstep. I should feel safer, but I didn't. Dekim would only send someone else.

Or maybe he would come himself. Maybe this would be the trigger.

Wufei ended the call. "Done. Now we simply wait to hear more." He sat down and looked at me. "Tell me how your Iris is."

Iris. I had forgotten to call Sally.

I reached for Wufei's phone and quickly dialed. A short time later I was connected with her.

"You just caught me, Duo." She sounded tired. "I was about to leave."

"How's Iris?"

"Better. Much better. I'm planning on operating tomorrow morning."

My heart jumped. "What time?"

"Eight o'clock. Can you be here for her?"

God, I wanted to be.

"We'll take care of her, even if you can't make it."

But Iris would be sick and in pain and among strangers. "When will you know if she's--" I wouldn't say the word _paralyzed_. "If the operation was a success?"

"We'll have a good idea by tomorrow evening. You could call then."

"Yes, I could do that." I could do phone calls and prayers just as I'd done ever since I delivered Iris to the hospital. To hell with it. I was tired of this long-distance care taking. "I'll be there tomorrow morning."

She chuckled. "To keep an eye on me?"

"You bet. I'll see you tomorrow, Sally."

I hung up the phone, feeling Wufei's eyes on me.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Better. They're operating tomorrow."

"I see."

"And I'm going to be there."

"I want to argue with you, but I won't," he said quietly. "I'd do the same. Children are hard to fight."

"Relena will try to stop me from going. Will you help me?"

"Suppose you go get your overnight case packed while I work out a strategy." He looked down at his suitcase. "I seem to be ready to go. Do you think I'm psychic?"

"I think you're a very nice guy."

He smiled. "But that goes without saying."

***************

**Cheyenne, Wyoming**

**Majestic Hotel**

**11:45 p.m.**

The hotel was old and shabby. Not even the snow could disguise its run-down state. Inside, the chipped and discolored reception desk was manned by a pimple-faced kid in jeans and a plaid shirt who was reading USA Today.

"I'm here for John Morrisey," Heero said. "Which room?"

The kid didn't look up. "You'll have to call him. We don't give out that information."

"Which room?"

"I said we--" The kid glanced up and stiffened as he met Heero's gaze. "It's against the rules."

"I won't tell anybody. Which room?"

"Two thirty-four."

"Has anyone been here to see him?"

"Only Trey."

"Trey?"

"Trey Catalonia."

"You know this Catalonia?"

"Sure. He lives here in the hotel. Trey's cool." The kid nibbled on his lower lip. "You with the police or something?"

Heero nodded and showed his ID.

"CIA? Cool."

"No older man has been around? Gray hair, hooked nose?"

The kid shook his head. "Haven't seen him. But I work the night shift. I haven't even seen Morrisey for a couple of days."

But he's still registered?"

He nodded.

"How long has Morrisey been here?"

"Two weeks." He frowned. "Cody's not in trouble, is he? He's clean. He drinks a little, but he told me that no performer with any sense does drugs."

"Performer?"

"Cody drives in the demolition derby." He pointed his thumb to the right. "You can see his name on the poster on the stadium two blocks down. It's real little letters, but Cody told me the management thinks he's hot stuff and the next year they're going to feature him. He's going to be a star."

What the hell could Dekim want with Trey Catalonia? Heero wondered. He turned and walked toward the elevator. "Don't call Morrisey and tell him I'm coming."

Two minutes later he was standing in front of Morrisey's door. A Do Not Disturb sign hung on the knob. He knocked. No answer. He carefully turned the knob. Locked. Morrisey might have already flown the coop. The kid had said he hadn't seen him for a few days.

He knocked again. No answer.

He suddenly noticed the door was ice-cold.

He kicked in the door.

The window across the room was wide open and snow covered the carpet beneath it. A man was lying on the bed, a fistful of money clutched in his hand.

_Shit._

Heero backed away and slammed the door shut. He took out his phone and dialed Relena. "Get a crew over here right away. Morrisey's dead and there's money all over the bed. Room 234."

Relena cursed. "Anthrax?"

"Probably. Tell your men to be careful but to go over everything with a fine-toothed comb," Heero continued. "See if we can come up with any leads." Not that he had any hope they would. Dekim wasn't careless.

"They'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Tell them to come in the back way. That may save us from the five o'clock news."

He hung up the phone and returned to the lobby. The clerk straightened apprehensively when he saw Heero approach.

"I didn't call him. If he wasn't there, it's not my fault."

"I know you didn't call him." He placed his elbows on the desk. "What's your name?"

"Don Sloburn."

"My name's Heero. I need your help. I need you to try to remember if you ever saw Morrisey with anyone except Catalonia. Anyone at all."

Sloburn shook his head. "No one except the guys at the track. He was a real fan, like me. He used to go down to Shea's bar at the corner and sit around and talk to the performers. But I never saw him deal any drugs or nothing."

"He talked to performers other than Catalonia?"

"Yeah sure, but he and Trey hit it off." He hesitated. "Cody's in trouble too?"

"Maybe. Can you tell me where to find him?"

He shook his head.

Heero couldn't be sure if he was telling the truth. Time to shake him up a little. "Morrisey's dead. Murdered. He's been dead for days."

Sloburn's eyes widened in shock. "Trey did it?"

"No, I don't think so, but Catalonia may know something." He added, "Or he may be in danger himself if he saw something he shouldn't have. We have to find him."

"Drugs? Mafia?"

"Possibly. Where's Trey Catalonia?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in a couple of days. I thought maybe he went down to see his mother in Kansas."

"He hasn't been in the show or down at the bar?"

He shook his head.

"Do you know where his mother lives?"

"I don't remember." He frowned. "Some suburb that sounds like-- Northern Lights, maybe."

"Northern Lights?"

He shrugged. "I don't remember."

"Does he have a girl?"

"Not here. He always said a performer had to devote himself to his work if he wanted to be a headliner."

"Do you have a picture of him?"

"No." He thought about it. "Dunston might have one. They take a lot of publicity pictures."

"Dunston?"

"Irwin Dunston. He runs the demolition derby."

"Where can I find him?"

"The derby was over at eleven. He's probably down at Shea's bar with everyone else."

"Arigatou." He leaned closer. "Now, I want you to listen very carefully. No one's to go into Morrisey's room. This has to be handled discreetly. A group of technicians will be here shortly to take the body and clean up the room."

"Technicians?"

"We're not sure what killed him. There are all kinds of gases and powders the mob uses these days. I'm sure the hotel manager wouldn't appreciate having anyone know the room might be contaminated."

"No."

"Good. Then you'll cooperate and keep this from the media."

Sloburn was frowning uncertainly. "I watched the O.J. trial. This isn't how things are done. You're disturbing evidence."

Christ, everyone in the world seemed to watch trials like the O.J. one and thought they were experts. "Oh, am I?"

"Yes, and how do I know that ID isn't forged or something? You might not be CIA. You could be anyone."

"Yes, I could be anyone." He gazed directly into Sloburn's eyes and said softly. "There's a dead man upstairs who was killed by the mob. Now, if I'm not one of the good guys, who could I be?"

Sloburn swallowed hard. "No one. You're legit. Of course you're legit."

"And you'll cooperate with the men who want to save your manager a major headache?"

He nodded.

"And you don't know anything more about Trey Catalonia?:

"I told you everything."

Which wasn't much. "The lock's broken on the door. Go on up and stand guard until the technicians get there."

"I shouldn't leave the desk."

Heero looked at him.

Sloburn nodded quickly and started around the desk. "I guess this is a more urgent matter."

"Very urgent."

So urgent it was scaring the pants off him, Heero thought as he headed for the exit. Morrisey's death could have been another experiment.

Or Dekim could be throwing down the gauntlet.


	17. Chapter 16

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…

Chapter 16

**Day Two**

**12:35 a.m.**

Heero was on his way to Shea's bar when he got the call from Wufei.

"Duo is leaving New Orleans. I thought you should know."

"Nani?"

"He's in the bedroom, packing. He's going to Johns Hopkins. The kid is being operated on tomorrow morning."

Murphy's Law. He should have known the one event that would draw Duo into the open would happen when he was hundreds of miles away. "You're going with him?"

"I seem to be. Since I was rash enough to make you a promise. But protecting him is escalating in difficulty. One good thing is that we may have zeroed in on Odin."

"How?"

Wufei explained. "Relena's ordered him picked up for questioning."

"Does she know you're leaving town?"

"Not yet. Should I tell her?"

"After the fact. So she won't be able to do anything about it except make sure he's protected at the hospital."

"That's my reading too."

"Take him down the courtyard staircase and out the back way. Do you have a car?"

"It's parked on Canal Street. And how am I supposed to get past Relena's guard in the courtyard?"

"How in the hell should I know? Improvise. You usually don't have any trouble."

"Thanks a lot."

"Buy a ticket to Milwaukee by way of Chicago. When you get to Chicago, make sure you're not followed and then take a flight to Baltimore."

"Any other orders?"

"Gomen." Wufei had a perfect right to be sarcastic. Heero was trying to control the situation long distance. He just felt so damn helpless. He wanted to _be_ there. And he was so scared, he was sick to his stomach.

"No problem." Wufei paused. "Did you find Morrisey?"

"Dead."

"Shit."

"Yes, but I may have a lead. I'll fill you in later. Call me when you get to the hospital."

"When I can do it discreetly. Duo wouldn't like seeing me report to you. He may toss me out on my ear and you wouldn't like that."

"As soon as you can then." He hung up the phone. Just try to locate Trey Catalonia, he told himself. Don't think about Duo. There was nothing else he could do. Wufei was smart and careful. He would take care of him.

Just don't think about Duo.

****************

Wufei was talking on the phone. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I just knew who was on the other end of the line. I didn't give a damn that Heero knew where I was going, but I didn't like the fact that Wufei had waited until I was in my bedroom to call him.

I put on my jacket, looped the strap of my camera around my neck, and strode back into the living room. "I'm ready to go. I hope Heero gave you a good suggestion as to how we should get out of here."

"Oops." Wufei stood up and grabbed my suitcase and his own. "I was only trying to be discreet."

"I'd rather you be honest than discreet. Which way are we leaving?"

"The courtyard." He moved down the hallway and unlocked the door. "You stay here at the head of the stairs and I'll go down and talk to Relena's man, see what I can do about getting him out of there."

"What if you can't?"

"I guess I knock him very gently and carefully on the head."

"I don't think you can knock anyone gently on the head, Wu. Won't Relena be upset with you?"

"Why should I be any different?" Wufei started down the stone steps. "Stay here."

The courtyard had no lights and Wufei seemed to disappear into a black hole. I strained to see, but I couldn't make out either Wufei or the guard.

I was suddenly uneasy. I should be hearing footsteps. Wufei's voice. Something…

Silence.

"Duo," Wufei called out.

I jumped.

"Come on. Hurry."

I ran down the stairs and Wufei led me across the courtyard.

"How did you get rid of him?"

"I didn't," he muttered. "He wasn't there."

"Nani?"

"He wasn't there." I could sense his tension. "And I don't like it, dammit. Relena wouldn't have called him off the job."

"The other guard, Walker..." Walker had died. Walker had been murdered.

Wufei didn't answer, but his grasp tightened on my arm.

The walkway leading to the street loomed dark and ominous.

"Stay a few paces behind. I'm going on ahead." Wufei disappeared into the darkness.

Alone. Fear iced through me. Someone was watching. I could _feel_ it.

Not on the walk where Wufei had gone. Behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw only gargoyles. Shadows on shadows. Then _movement_.

Oh, God.

I raced down the long walkway after Wufei. I could see the lights of the street and Wufei's silhouette. "Wufei!"

"Duo, what's-"

A hand closed on my braid, jerking me to a stop.

I looked over my shoulder. A white-painted face gleaming in the darkness. A skull. It looked like a skull. Something else was gleaming, the blade in his hand.

"Run, Duo." Wufei tore me from Odin Lowe with a force that threw me against the brick wall.

I couldn't run away. I couldn't leave Wufei. Where was he? I could barely see the two figures struggling in the darkness. It lasted only a moment, and then one of them was getting to his feet, coming toward me.

Wufei?

Odin Lowe?

I turned and ran.

He was right behind me.

He grabbed my arm. "Duo!"

I went limp with relief. "Wu. I thought- I wasn't sure-"

"I wasn't either for a minute." He was breathing hard. "He was very good."

"Odin Lowe?"

"I assume. I don't know anyone else with green hair, do you?"  
"What did you do to him?"

"He won't bother you again."

"He's dead?"

"Exceptionally. I'm very good too."

We were out of the walkway, on the street. Lights. Beautiful lights. 

"What are you going to do about him?" I asked.

"Unless you've changed your mind about going to Baltimore, we'll leave him for Relena. I doubt if he'd be entertaining company on our trip."

"I haven't changed my mind."

"I didn't think you would." He urged me down the street. "Then let's see if we can get out of the Quarter without running into Relena or one of her men."

***************

**Cheyenne**

**1:40 a.m.**

The lighting in the demolition derby stadium office was soft and diffused, and Heero had to step closer to study the group photo on the desk.

"This is Catalonia. Second row, third from the left." Dunston pointed at a man in a cowboy hat. "I told him not to wear it, but he put it on anyway."

Catalonia was in his early twenties with a wide face and deep-set, light eyes. "Is he good?"

"Not bad but not as good as he thinks he is."

The cowboy hat almost entirely hid Catalona's hair. "What color is his hair?"

"Light brown, sort of sandy."

"Short?"

Dunston nodded.

"I can't tell what color his eyes are."

"Blue."

"Do you have a personnel record on Catalonia?"

"Sure. Do you think the IRS would let me run a business without records out the wazoo?" Dunston went to the file cabinet and riffled through the folders. "Catalonia." He handed the file to Heero. "You know, this doesn't surprise me. I always knew Trey would end up in trouble."  
He opened the folder. "Why?"

Dunston shrugged. "Nothing I can point a finger at. Bad things happen when he's around. Most of the time to people Trey doesn't like."

Catalonia's mother was divorced and lived in Aurora, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. No other relatives listed. Northern Lights, the clerk at the hotel had said. Aurora Borealis? "Do you know anything about Catalonia's mother?"

"I know he visited her pretty frequently. She came here last month and I gave her a complimentary ticket to the show. He was preening and showing her off like a peacock." He made a face. "She was a real pushy bitch. She had the nerve to ask me why I wasn't starring sonny boy. I almost felt sorry for him. It was pretty clear Trey couldn't measure up in her eyes unless he was top of the heap."

"Did he ask for a leave of absence when he took off?"

Dunston shook his head. "One night he was here, the next he no-showed."

"May I have this folder and the picture?"

"As long as I get the folder back. I don't want the IRS saying I claimed an employee who doesn't exist."

He took a marker and drew a circle around Catalonia's face on the photo. "You'll get it back."

"Can I lock up and go back to the bar now?" Dunston asked. "This isn't how I planned to spend my evening you know."

Heero nodded. "Thanks for your time. Call me at that number I gave you if you hear from Catalonia."

"It's not likely is it? You wouldn't be here if he hadn't done something pretty bad."

"You can never tell." Heero left the office and headed for the exit. He doubted that Dunston would hear from Catalonia ever again. Dekim had plucked the young man from this world for his own purpose, and he would make sure Catalonia remained cut off.

But Heero might have gotten a break. It was hard to cut off a man from his mother, particularly a dominant woman like the one Dunston had described. He would fax the picture and file to Relena and then catch the next flight to Kansas City.

Heero was becoming more uneasy the more he learned. Catalonia sounded reckless, volatile, and vain. He would be a piece of cake for Dekim to manipulate.

_Bad things happen when he's around._

He hoped to hell Dunston's words weren't prophetic.

***************

**Des Moines, Iowa**

**6:30 a.m.**

Trey checked his wristwatch. Time to make the run to Waterloo. Dekim liked everything to go like clockwork and precisely to his orders. Well, he was forking out the money.

Trey would give them what he wanted.

********************

**8:30 a.m.**

Odin Lowe was dead.

Dekim hung up the phone. Inconvenient.

Or maybe not. He would have had to dispose of Odin eventually anyway, and Odin hadn't proved efficient where the boy was concerned. Not that Dekim could worry about the boy just then.

He was coming so close. Trey Catalonia should be in Waterloo already.

After all this time, after all his planning, the countdown was about to start.

***************

**Waterloo, Iowa**

**10:05 a.m.**

Trey yawned as he leaned against the truck's front fender.

This waiting around was boring. But it looked like they were almost done.

He climbed back into the driver's seat. It was all too easy. No excitement. Even the extra little job Dekim had given him had gone off without a hitch.

He watched as Dekim's men swarmed over the truck. If this was his truck wouldn't be letting those foreigners touch it. You couldn't trust anybody. Everybody knew that.

They were through now, waving him imperiously out of the barn. Arrogant sons of bitches. Just like in the John Wayne movies.

But John Wayne had shown them.

Just as Trey Catalonia would show them.

***************

**Johns Hopkins**

**11:20 a.m.**

"Why is she still in the operating room?" I said worriedly. "It shouldn't be taking this long."

"Oh?" Wufei said. "I didn't know you were a surgeon. Maybe you should go in and take over for Sally Po."  
"Shut up, Wu. I'm scared to death. She's so little..."

"I know," Wufei said gently. "That's probably why it takes so long. It must be a very delicate operation."

He was right, I realized with relief. Maybe nothing had gone wrong. It was good that Wufei was here with me and not Heero. "I suppose you called Heero when we got here."

He nodded. "While you were talking to Sally before the operation." He let a couple of seconds go by, then said, "I also called Relena."

I stiffened.

"I had to do it. You couldn't stay here without a lot more protection."

"Just so she doesn't try to make me leave Iris."

"She probably will, but we'll stave her off for a while."

"Did you find out what happened to the guard in the courtyard?"

Wufei grimaced.

"Dead?"

"They found him underneath the courtyard staircase. Odin was evidently trying to get into the apartment."

I smiled with effort. "A mamba in the drain?"

"I doubt if Odin Lowe was clever enough to appreciate James Bond. Don't worry about it now. You're here and safe."

"You shouldn't have told Relena that I was here. I'd bet it was Heero's idea."

"Well, I agreed with him. I knew he had Iris's and your welfare at heart."

"Bullshit. He doesn't care about us."

"You know better than that. He cares. He just couldn't let it get in the way. He waited a long time to get this close."

"He was wrong. I can imagine how upset he was about his colleagues dying on Nakoa, but that doesn't excuse-"

"His colleagues?" Wufei asked. "Is that what he told you?"

"Yeah." His reaction puzzled me.

"His mother and father were scientists and they were both on Nakoa. His mother headed up the project. They were the ones who brought Heero into the project. His sister was a lab assistant, and it also seems to me that he had a new-born son there as well."

Shock jolted through me. "And they all died on Nakoa?"

Wufei nodded. "I'd say that's enough to make someone a little obsessive."

"He didn't tell me."

"He didn't tell me either. I had to find out for myself."

"Why?" I murmured. "Why did he keep it a secret from me?"

"I couldn't tell you. I'm not Heero."

Who _was_ Heero Yuy? He had recounted the story of Nakoa with all the emotion of a robot. He had said he was no longer the person who had lived through that horror. But his pain was evidently still so intense he still couldn't talk about it even after these past few years.

"It doesn't make what he did any more forgivable." 

"I'm not defending, merely explaining." He smiled. "And perhaps I wanted to distract you a little. I don't like to see you this-"

"Here they come." I jumped up as the operating room doors opened and a wave of nurses and doctors flowed out. In their midst was a gurney with Iris on it.

Sally pulled down her mask and smiled at me. "Iris's doing very well. She's stable."

"Is that all?"

"That's pretty good for an operation of that length. You'll be glad to know I did a brilliant job."

"I _am_ glad. But I'd be happier if you told me Iris's prospects are just as brilliant."

She shook her head. "I can't say that. I wish I could. She's doing well now. We won't know more until later."

Disappointment flooded me. That's what she had told me before, but I had hoped-

"I promise you'll know as soon as I do." Sally moved down the hall.

Wufei's hand comfortingly grasped my shoulder. "She survived the operation. Five minutes ago you would have been happy with just that."

"I know I only wish-" I wanted desperately to know Iris was going to completely recover and it was hard to wait. "I'm going to find someone to take a blood sample for you to send to Atlanta. Then I'm going to Recovery to wait for Iris to wake up."

"I'll go with you." Wufei fell into step with me as I hurried in the direction they'd taken Iris.

***************

**Aurora, Kansas**

**3:50 p.m.**

The Catalonia home was a small, neat clapboard house like a half dozen others on the same block.

The woman who opened the door was slipping into a brown coat. "Yes?" She said impatiently.

"Miss. Catalonia?" Heero asked.

"Are you a salesman? For God's sake, I was just walking out the door." Dorothy Catalonia probably looked younger than she was. Her blonde hair was long, her makeup perfect. "And I'm late for an appointment."

"I'm not a salesman. I'm looking for your son, Trey."

Her lips thinned and she looked him up and down. "Why? Are you a bill collector?"

He shook his head. "I'm thinking of opening a demolition track in town and I'd like to offer him a job."

"Trey has a job."

"Perhaps I can up the ante for him. Can you tell me where I can find him?"

"Trey doesn't live here anymore."

"But you must be in contact with him."

"Why must I? We've been estranged for some time." She checked her watched. "And I have thirty-minutes to get to the other side of town to show a house."

"You're a real estate agent?"

"Does that interest you?" She moved past him toward an Oldsmobile parked in the driveway. "Maybe you want to offer me a job too."

"I'd really appreciate your help if-"

"I can't help you Mr....?"

"Gardiner. David Gardiner."

"You'll have to find Trey on your own, Mr. Gardiner. I've no idea where he is. We've lost touch over the years."

Heero watched her back out of the driveway before he strode toward his rental car at the curb.

He'd done his job. He's disturbed Dorothy Catalonia and made her suspicious. All he could do now was wait and see if Relena had done hers in tapping Dorothy's home and car phones.

If she knew where her son could be reached, he doubted that she could resist contacting him. The big if.

He drove four blocks and pulled into a supermarket parking lot to wait for the call from Relena.

***************

**8:15 p.m.**

Sally was coming down the corridor toward me.

I tensed. She wasn't smiling. She just looked… abstracted.

She stopped beside me. And she smiled.

"She's going to be fine," she said. "She still has a long haul, but there should be a full recovery."

"Thank God."

Sally frowned sternly. "Now will you go get some sleep? Your friend here has arranged a bed in the room next to Iris's. How, I don't know. This floor was supposed to be full."

Bless Wufei. Bless Sally Po. Bless everyone in the whole damn world. "Soon I want to go and sit with Iris for a while."

"She's still under sedation."

"I don't care."

Sally grinned. "I did good, huh?"

"Dynamite." I headed down the hall toward Iris's room. "You're right, you're totally brilliant."

***************

**9:30 a.m.**

"Des Moines," Relena said when Heero picked up the phone. "1523 Jasper Street."

"She called him?"

"He called her. She evidently doesn't have his number because she tried to get it when he called. He put her off and she didn't like it. He didn't like your visit to his mother either. I'm arranging transport for you, but I'm also sending men in from St. Louis in case you don't move fast enough."

"Do you expect me to argue? I'd tell you to have the local police pick him up if I wasn't afraid they'd blow it. I'm on my way to the airport." He pulled out of the supermarket parking lot.

There was a chance Catalonia might already be gone before anyone got there. Making him uneasy was a risk Heero had to take when he'd contacted mother. Uneasy enough to contact Dekim or make a move himself?  
He hoped not. He had an idea time was running out.

***************

**11:10 p.m.**

"Will you please go to bed? It's almost midnight." Wufei was squatting beside my chair. "This isn't doing Iris any good."

"I know." I leaned back in the rocking chair, my gaze fixed on Iris's face. "I guess I'm afraid to leave her." I smiled. "She opened her eyes about five minutes ago. I think she recognized me."

"That's good."

"This is a nice room, isn't it? All children's rooms should have rocking chairs. They're very comfortable."

"I suppose they put it here for rocking sick babies."  
"I wish I could rock Iris. Look at her. She's in a straitjacket."

"I believe the correct term is _body cast_. I guess they have to keep her from moving."

"Did you call Heero and tell him she's going to be all right?"

"You think he'd be interested? A cold, cruel, man like Heero?"  
"Shut up, Wufei. He's all those things but he liked Iris. Who couldn't help but like Iris?" Sitting there, I'd been remembering that night on the _Montana_ when Heero had stayed with me until we'd known Iris would live. He hadn't been pretending that night. He'd been genuinely concerned about Iris.

Wufei nodded, his gaze on the baby's face. "Can I talk you into going to bed now?"

I shook my head. "I'm comfortable. I want to be here in case she wakes up again."

"You really should go to-" He stopped. "I can't convince you can I?"  
"Nope, you use the bed."

"I wouldn't be so dishonorable." He sat down on an upright chair across the room. "I'll stay here in case you change your mind."

There was a comfortable silence in the room.

"Wu, call Heero and tell him about Iris."

"He already knows. He called me."

"He did?"  
"He was on his way to the airport in Kansas City. He was very relieved about Iris."

"Kansas City?"

"He's been tracking down a man who might lead him to Dekim."

Dekim. I had been on such an emotional roller-coaster ride about Iris that I hadn't time to dwell on Dekim. But Heero had not forgotten him. He was as driven as he'd always been. Could I really blame him? When Quatre had died, I had almost gone crazy. How would I have reacted if my entire family had been killed?

My god, I was making excuses for him when there was no excuse. Heero couldn't have been more wrong. He had used me and manipulated the situation to suit-

Just as I had done after Quatre's funeral. I had no second thoughts about using Heero. I would have used anyone to get Dekim. Monsters should not be allowed to live.

_Show them the monsters._

No, not now. The hatred and the passion for revenge would come again, but tonight I didn't want to think of Dekim or Heero or anything disturbing. I just wanted to relax and enjoy this moment of thanksgiving. Iris was alive and someday she was going to run and play like other children.

Surely it was safe to forget about monsters for a little while longer.


	18. Chapter 17

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…

Chapter 17

**Day Three**

**Des Moines, Iowa**

**3:30 p.m.**

When Heero arrived, three cars were parked in the driveway at 1523 Jasper Street and the house was blazing with lights.

Not good.

A man with sunglasses, who was dressed in a suit and tie that seemed oddly out of place on him came out the front door. "Heero Yuy?"

"Too late?"

He nodded.

"Shit."

"I'm Howard, Catalonia was already gone by the time we got here."

"Have you searched the place?"

"It's as clean as a whistle. We woke up some of his neighbors. They didn't know much about him. He moved in only a few days ago. He drove a truck."

"What kind of truck?"

"Big, strong van type. _Pride Cleaning Service_ painted on the sides. One of the teenagers next door said she saw the truck get on the freeway heading south."

"South." As if that were a help. Catalonia could have changed direction at any point. He dialed Relena. "It's time to pull out the stops We can't wait any longer. I want you to call the president."

"Aren't you panicking? We don't have proof that Trey Catalonia is actively involved."

"Hell yes I'm panicking."

"Not yet," Relena said. "Let's see if we can do some damage control. We'll find Catalonia and then-"

"Then find him. Quick," Heero said harshly. "I've got a bad feeling about this, Relena."

"I'm not calling the White House and putting my job on the line because you have a hunch."

"Look, put it together. Dekim sent Morrisey to find a man with Trey Catalonia's qualifications. He found him. Trey Catalonia goes to Iowa where we suspect the counterfeiting installation is."

"It's still speculation."

Heero's hand tightened on the phone. He wished it were Relena's throat. "If you won't call the White House, then call the highway patrol, okay? Ask them to pull over Catalonia's truck." He paused. "But not to search it."

"You think he's carrying the currency?"

"He's either got it or he's going to pick it up. Wouldn't bet on either one."

"Another hunch?" Relena asked sourly. "Okay, okay, I'll contact the patrol. What direction was he going?"

"South." He hoped he was telling the truth.

***************

**Collinsville, Illinois**

**1:40 p.m.**

Trey Catalonia picked up the phone on the first ring. "Dekim?"

"You made it with no trouble?"

"I breezed through without the highway patrol giving me a second look. I parked outside Des Moines and just peeled off that cleaner truck lettering like you told me."

"And the currency?"

"All loaded and ready to go."

"What about the extra boxes?"

"I dropped them off at the mill."

"And the little extra job?"  
"Done."

"Good. Then go ahead." Dekim said. "I want it done by three."

"Same plan?"

"No diversion." Dekim paused. "Don't take any of the cash yourself. You'll be paid later, as arranged, when I meet you tomorrow at Springfield."

"Right."

"You've filled the gas tank on the getaway car so you won't have to stop?"

"Yeah."

"On no account do I want you to stop where anyone will see you. If you grow tired, find a secluded place to rest."

"You've told me this before."

"No other questions?"

"You're not paying me to ask questions. I'm not dumb enough to think that's real money. It would pass anywhere though. It looks real good."

"Thank you." Dekim said dryly.

"Its all pretty weird but it's your business."

"That's right, it is."

Eagerness flooded Catalonia as he hung up the phone. This was the chance of a lifetime. Big time. He was going big-time.

He jumped to his feet, buttoned his gray shirt, and strapped on his holster. He liked the gun. He crouched and whipped the gun from the holster. "Pow. Gotcha."

He did it again.

He reluctantly slid the gun back in the holster. He sat down on the bed and reached for his boots. Dekim had said to wear plain black shoes, but screw him. He's had to go along with the uniform, but the boots were important. Would guys like John Wayne or Evil Knievel have worn plain black shoes?

***************

**Kansas City, Missouri**

**1:55 p.m.**

"All set, Trieze." Dekim strode to the helicopter, where Trieze was waiting. "In a few hours it will be over and all we'll have to do is issue our demands."  
"I've been thinking," Trieze said. "It would be better to cut down on the monetary demand and put more emphasis on thee release of the prisoners."

"Cut down?" Dekim repeated. "How much?"

"We're asking fifty million dollars. If we go for twenty five it would-"

"Fine. As long as you take it out of your share."

"Don't be ridiculous. That would leave me with nothing.""

Which was what the pompous baka deserved. "Nothing but your political ideals. Isn't that what's important to you?"

"The decision on the money should be mine. You wouldn't have been able to get anywhere with out me. I set up the counterfeiting operation, I supplied the men and the money."

Dekim judged he had protested enough. Maybe just a little more reluctance. "Let me think about it. We still have a few hours before we can issue our demand. I'll call you at the farm after the strike." He shut the helicopter door and strode back to his car.

Too bad he'd had to restrain himself even then. He would really have enjoyed seeing that arrogant son of a bitch humbled. But a wise man never indulged himself if it might cause complications.

He started his car, watching as the helicopter slowly lifted. He could see Trieze in the passenger seat, and he leaned out the window, smiled and waved.

The helicopter was veering away, climbing to the south.

He waved again, then leisurely reached in his pocket and pressed the button on the remote control.

The helicopter became a fireball and plummeted to the ground.

********************

**Collinsville, Illinois**

**2:30 p.m.**

Trey Catalonia stepped on the accelerator and heard the big tires screech as he turned the corner.

A woman in shorts and a t-shirt jumped back on the curb. She screamed an obscenity after him. He grinned as he realized how much he had scared her.

The people in the stands at the stadiums were never afraid of him. They were there for the show, and he had never been the headliner.

Now he was the headliner.

The steering wheel felt smooth and good in his hands. Power. He had never driven a vehicle this heavy even on the circuit.

He passed the bank. Three more blocks to North Avenue. Dekim had specified that it must be North Avenue.

The neighborhood was getting worse. The buildings were shabby, and prostitutes hung out on the corner.

One more block.

A bunch of teenagers were in the street gathered around a 1987 green Cadillac. Not a good year for Caddys. Flashy, but no guts.

The kids gave him a surly glance as he passed them. He knew how they felt. He represented authority. If he gave them a chance, they'd jump him.

Half a block.

There it was. North Avenue.

Now.

Excitement tore through him as he stomped on the accelerator. The next corner. Hit it hard. Do the job.

He was John Wayne.

He was Evil Knievel.

He was the headliner.

*******************

The truck crashed over onto it side, knocking the breath out of him.

Trey freed himself from the special protective bars and slowly crawled out of the cab.

It was already happening.

The back doors of the armored truck had flown open and plastic-wrapped money scattered all over the street.

The kids by the Caddy were all over it, grabbing handfuls and running.

Two women came out of the store across the street and ran toward the truck.

"Stop," he yelled. "That's Federal Reserve money."

No one paid attention to him. Not that he'd expected them to.He would have done the same thing.

People were coming out of the woodwork. It was a mob scene with everyone grabbing the cash and running.

"I'm calling the police," Trey yelled. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get away from that money. You're breaking the law."

He waited a moment, then walked away. He'd parked the black Honda sedan two blocks over. He should be out of there in minutes.

As he reached the corner, he glances back over his shoulder.

They were even crawling into the truck to get at the money.

Too bad he couldn't wait for the TV and newspaper crews. No one would ever know how well he'd done his job. He had compensation though. More than the headliners on the circuit got.

He touched the money belt under his shirt, where he's stashed the cash he'd taken from the truck earlier. A little extra to sweeten the pot.

Even Evil Knievel would have envied him this haul.

***************

**Des Moines**

**5:36 p.m.**

"Heero, where are you?" Wufei asked.

"Catalonia's place in Des Moines."

"Are you near a TV set?"

Heero stiffened. "Why?"

"Turn on CNN. I was watching TV in the waiting room and there was a news flash. I think it's happened."

He whirled on Howard. "I need a TV set."

Howard gestured to the living room.

The first thing Heero saw when he turned on CNN was the truck on its side in the street. The crowd surrounding it was pouncing on the clear plastic packages scattered on the ground.

Heero had seen those packages before in the poor box at Tenajo. "My God."

A blond newswoman's face replaced the scene. "The driver of the vehicle disappeared shortly after the accident, but this amateur video was taken five minutes after the truck overturned on North Avenue in East Collinsville. A spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis refuses to comment on the amount of money that was stolen."

Heero lifted the phone back to his ear. "Get on another phone, Wufei. Call the Federal Reserve in St. Louis. Tell them who you are and let them check with Relena for references. I'll hold on. I'll bet every dime of their money is accounted for."

"You think this is it?"  
"I hope not. Maybe I'm wrong. Check and see how the Reserve packages their money." He stared at a replay of the scene in Collinsville while Wufei made the phone call. Jesus, they were crawling all over the money, grabbing, running. Kids, adults.

"It's not a Federal truck," Wufei said when he came back on the line. "The last truck came in fifteen minutes ago. That clear plastic packaging of the money isn't Reserve procedure. They don't know what the hell's going on."

"When did the truck overturn?"

"A little before three."

"Two and half hours ago." He felt sick as he thought of the damage the anthrax might have wreaked already. "How much of the money's been taken?"

"By the time the police got there, the truck had been ransacked." Wufei paused. "It's too sweet a setup to be a coincidence."

"If it's Dekim, a demand will be issued almost immediately. I'll call Relena and see it they've heard from him. Why the hell would he choose Collinsville?"

"It's not as strange as you'd think. It's across the river from St. Louis, where there's the Federal Reserve Bank. The trucks would be a fairly familiar sight. Dekim targeted one of the lowest-income neighborhoods in the city. When the doors flew open on that truck, those poor devils must have thought they'd won the lottery. How soon before we see signs of the anthrax?"

"Anytime now. There's a hell of a lot of people who are going to need help. I don't know how many will survive. The city should be quarantined and the media has to start broadcasting the-"

"Don't tell me. Tell Relena."

"Oh, I'll tell her," Heero said grimly. "I told the bitch last night that she should call the president. Old pal or not, the president is going to be looking for scapegoats and the CIA will be one of them. I hope Relena gets roasted over a slow flame."

"She probably will if she can't pass the buck. Watch your back, Heero."

"Don't worry, I will. Call me if you hear anything more." 

He hung up the phone and dialed Relena. It took five minutes to get through.

Relena's voice was sharp with strain. "I can't talk to you now, Heero."

"You will talk to me. Dekim?"

"Hai. The demand came ten minutes ago. Fifty million dollars or he'll target another city. If we pay up, he'll turn over all the remaining contaminated currency."

"Were the prisoners mentioned?"

"Iie. Trieze's out of it. Dekim assured us we'll only have him to deal with. And he told us to check out a helicopter explosion in Kansas City."

Another barrier eliminated from Dekim's path. "The truck driver was Trey Catalonia?"

"He matched the description."

"But no sign of him?"

"No. I've got to go. I've got CDC on the line. Otto's team is on its way to Collinsville."

"Have they came up with anything?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Nobody knows anything. Except that I'm to blame. But I'm not going to go down, Heero. No way. I'll find a way." She hung up the phone.

Heero had failed. All these years of tracking Dekim for nothing. Nakoa, L2, Tenajo, and now Collinsville. He should have been able to stop him. He should have ignored Relena and-

_I'll find a way._

Relena was struggling frantically to survive.

And she was talking to the CDC.

_Duo._

***************

**John Hopkins**

**7:45 p.m.**

In the waiting room I shivered as I watched the president's face on TV. He was stern but reassuring. Yes, they had received a message threatening another city, but no one should be alarmed. The contaminated money was being collected and burned. All agencies at his command were at work on capturing the terrorists who had committed this horror.

"He's not telling them there was no cure. He shouldn't be reassuring them. He should be scaring them into going to their homes and staying there. He's only worried about your damn stock market."

The news switched to Collinsville and a long shot of burning buildings. "Riots?" I couldn't believe it. "As if the situation there isn't bad enough."

The screen now showed quarantine wards, panicky faces.

"Seventy-six reported dead already," I whispered. "How many more?"

"Let's hope most of the people stashed the money away for themselves and didn't get generous."

"I hoped I could help. Why couldn't we have had a little more time? Maybe we could have saved some of those people."

"You're doing what you can, Duo."

"Tell that to those people in Collinsville."

"Disasters happen."

"This isn't disaster, it's murder."

Wufei nodded. "So why are you blaming yourself? Dekim is the one who-"

"Get your car and wait outside the emergency entrance, Wufei." It was Heero, striding into the room. "Duo, I'm getting you out of here."

I stared at him in shock. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Iris is-"

"You'll either go with me or you'll go with Relena. Either way you'll have to leave Iris. If you go with me, you'll be free and have leverage to deal for Iris's protection. If you let Relena swallow you up, you'll have no power at all. You'll be in some hospital or CDC unit and allowed out of sedation only long enough to give blood samples."

"Relena hasn't done that yet."

"She wasn't desperate. She is now. She'll present you as her hidden weapon, and naturally you have to be kept safe. It's a national emergency. Everyone knows individual rights have to be suspended during national emergencies." He turned to Wufei. "Hurry, we don't have much time."

I shook my head. "I won't leave Iris."

"He's making sense," Wufei told me. "Do what he says." He walked out, leaving me alone with Heero.

"I'm not going."

"Listen to me." Heero's voice was tense, desperate. "For God's sake listen. I know you hate me, and that's okay. But I'm telling you the truth. Everything's changed. We've got a panic on our hands, and Relena's going to have all the authority she needs. The only way you'll have any power at all is to not let her get a hold of you. Relena doesn't care about you or Iris, she cares about Relena. As long as your free, you have bargaining power." He gestured to the screen on which they were showing the riots. "Can't you see I'm not lying to you? I want you safe. I want Iris safe. Believe me."

I did believe him. I'd had enough experience with Relena to know that Heero's assessment was frighteningly accurate.

"We'll go down the emergency stairs."

I didn't move.

"Duo, I'm begging you," Heero said unsteadily. "Don't let this happen to you and Iris."

_Iris._ Iris was helpless, she couldn't protect herself, and if Relena took me away, she would have no one.

"I'll go." I strode out of the room.

Heero was instantly beside me. "Duo, I promise that-"

"Don't make me any promises. I don't want them from you." I stopped abruptly. "Relena's agents. Those two coming toward us."

"Relena must have ordered them to get you." Heero's hand was under my elbow, pushing me. "Run!"

I ran. Toward the emergency exit and down the stairs.

Heero was right behind me. A door burst open above me. Relena's agents. The sound of their footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

Third floor.

The agents were gaining on us. The footsteps were closer.

Second floor.

Heero pulled ahead of me and jerked the first floor door. "To the left and through the lobby!"

Marble floors, columns, a gift shop.

"Stop them!"

A red emergency sign over the double doors ahead.

A room full of people. More double doors.

Outside. The screech of tires as Wufei pulled up beside us.

Heero jerked open the rear door and pushed me inside.

They were on him. Heero elbowed one in the stomach and another in the chin.

"Take off!" He dove inside the car.

The car jerked forward and Wufei raced down the driveway with the rear door still swing open. 

We were on the street, speeding toward the corner. Green light. We could make it.

I glanced over my shoulder. The agents were still chasing after us, running down the street…

The light turned red.

Wufei ran it.

Brakes screeched.

The agents had stopped and were standing in the middle of the street, staring after us.

The relief that rush through me dissipated immediately when Heero said, "They'll have the license plate number. We need to get out of this car." He reached out and closed the rear door. "Get to the airport quick, Wufei."

"And what do we do when we get to the airport?" Wufei asked.

"We'll have to decide that when we're airborne."

"You have a plane?" I asked.

"Relena arranged one for me earlier. That's how I got to the hospital so quickly after you called, Wufei." He smiled grimly. "Don't you think it's fitting that we make out getaway in a plane that Relena got for me?"

"I doubt if Relena will think so," Wufei said. "And I'm not at all sure my government will approve either. There's such a thing as abuse of diplomatic immunity. Oh, well, such is life."

"I want Iris protected every minute. I want those guards back on her floor," I said. "What if Dekim finds out she's there?"

"I don't think it's an immediate problem. He's a little busy now." Heero held up his hand. "I know. It's top priority. We'll take care of it."

"How?"

"I don't know. Let me work on it. I'll see that she's safe. I promise."

I'd told him I didn't want his promises. But he'd lived up to his promises before. Against all odds, he had found medical help for Iris and Iris had lived.

Heero was gazing at me, searching my expression. "Okay?"

I looked away from him. "Okay. I'll take help anywhere I can get it. Even from you."

***************

**8:16 p.m.**

The son of a bitch.

Trey Catalonia stared incredulously at his face on the TV above the counter, his hands clenching into fists. The picture of him was the group shot at the derby. It had been blown up and wasn't clear, but he was recognizable.

"Anything else?" the convenience store clerk asked.

"No." Trey picked up the cigarettes he'd just bought, stuffed them into his shirt pocket, and hurried out of the store. He glanced back cautiously over his shoulder to see if the clerk was looking at him. No, he saw with relief that the man was waiting on the next customer.

He jumped into his car and peeled off, out of the gas station. The fucking terrorist bastard had set him up. The police would never stop looking for him. Everyone in the country was going to be on the lookout. And he wouldn't have known about it if he hadn't run out of cigarettes.

Don't make any stops, Dekim had said.

Oh, no, don't stop anywhere. If he stopped, he'd hear how Dekim had set him up. Even the getaway car had no radio. He was like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

Slaughter.

His stomach twisted with panic. What was he going to do?

Mama. Mama was smart. She would find a place to hide him. She would think of a way to help him.

He had to get to Mama.


	19. Chapter 18

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…

Chapter 18

**8:52 p.m.**

A group of mechanics and pilots were glued to a television set in the office adjoining the hangar.

NBC this time, I noticed, but the pictures were almost identical to the ones aired by CNN.

"Hilde, we have to get out of here," Heero said to the girl in the red windbreaker who I recognized to be the pilot from before. "Are we fueled?"

"Yeah." She didn't look away from the screen. "Did you hear? Six more cases and the CDC is announcing that there isn't enough antidote to go around."

"We have to leave, Hilde." Heero repeated.

She nodded, "We should just go and bomb the bastard."

Heero snorted. "Have they announced who did it?"

"No, we wouldn't want the people knowing a thing like that now would we?'

One sentence Hilde had said suddenly hit home to me. "You said there wasn't enough antidote to go around. Is there an antidote?"

"Supposedly some kind of an experimental one. The CDC pumped blood into a little girl they brought in a couple of hours ago."

"And she's alive?"

"So far." She finally turned away from the set. "You go ahead and get on board Heero. I'll go through the regular checklist. We'll be out of here in no time." She walked out of the office into the hangar.

"An antidote." I murmured.

"Not an antidote," Heero said. "Sounds to me like they used the last blood sample you sent them and injected it into the little girl."

"How could they do that?"

"They culture-expand and activate the cells from a blood sample and then alter the cells with the immune genes. They've been experimenting with the same procedure with HIV patients. Otto's team must have accelerated the procedure."

"And it worked. The little girl is alive. It's a start."

Heero shook his head. "It's a propaganda move. The government didn't want to admit that there wasn't any antidote so they concocted a miracle cure."

"It is a miracle. She's alive."

His gaze narrowed on my face. "What are you thinking?"

I could feel Heero's gaze on me as we boarded the plane and settled into the passenger seats. But he said nothing to me until after we'd taken off. "Well?"

"Tell Hilde to turn west."

"I was afraid of this," Heero said. "Collinsville?"

"Collinsville!" Wufei repeated. 

I nodded. "That's where the CDC team is. That's where I have to be."

"You do know there's a quarantine."

"Oh, I think they'll let me in."

"That's what I'm afraid of. You'll be walking right into Relena's hands."

"My blood saved that little girl. There may be other people I can help."

"Most of the damage has been done. The anthrax has been so widely publicized that no one in their right mind would open those sealed packets of money."

"That little girl opened one."

"Look, your blood type would have to be compatible. That narrows the chances right there. And how much blood do you think you can give?"

I shook my head.

"He's right, Duo." Wufei said.

"He's wrong," I said. "Do you think I can hide out somewhere and watch what's happening there?" I turned to Heero. "I'm going. Now you figure out how I can do it and still keep Iris safe and myself out of some isolation ward."

"You don't ask much."

"You owe me," I said fiercely. "You owe me for Tenajo. Now pay up Heero."

He stared at me for a long while and then stood up and headed for the cockpit. "I'll tell Hilde we're going to Collinsville."

***************

Heero didn't return from the cockpit until it was almost time to land at the Collinsville airport. I had heard him talking nonstop on the radio, but I hadn't been able to understand what he was saying.

"What have you been up to?" I asked.

"Buckle up. We'll be on the ground in five minutes." He sat down and buckled his own seat belt. "And be prepared for a welcoming committee."

"Who?" I asked.

"I radioed the CDC, CBS, CNN, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch." He smiled grimly. "They should all be eagerly awaiting you."

I frowned.

"You're about to become a national hero. The courageous, caring man willing to brave the dangers of the quarantined zone to give his life's blood and minister to the sick."  
"Very good." Wufei murmured.

"And your sacrifice is all that much greater because you left a sick child to come here, a child you saved from death."

"My god it sounds like a soap opera." I said.

"But it's not a soap opera. It's the truth and can be verified by any enterprising reporter."

"You told them about Dekim?"  
He nodded. "I told them about Tenajo. I've shone as bright a spotlight as I could. The media particularly liked the idea of one of their own being the hero of the piece."

"I'm no hero." I said with distaste.

"You are now," Heero said. "You'll visit that little girl who was given your blood. They'll take shots of you and any new victims brought in. You'll go into the riot areas and show that it's possible to survive this mutated anthrax strain." He paused. "And you'll give interviews about Iris and Quatre and Tenajo."

"No!"

"Yes. It's necessary. I want Sally Po to become the most famous surgeon in America because she operated on Iris. I want the head nurse interviewed. I want the hospital to have to put up an army of guards around Iris just to keep away the media."

My eyes widened as I finally began to understand. "And keep away Dekim too."

"I think we can rely on Relena for that. She won't dare let anything happen to America's little sweetheart."

"And with every movement scrutinized, she won't be able to stuff Duo out of sight into a facility." Wufei said.

Heero nodded. "That's the plan."

And it was a sound one, I thought. It could work.

"One more thing," Heero said. "You're to tell the media that the CDC is closer to a permanent cure than their official statement would lead anyone to believe."

"Why?"

"I want Dekim to feel insecure. If he thinks a cure is imminent, he'll try to settle quickly and cut his losses."

"Or distribute another truckload of money."

"No, he won't try that again. Everyone's on guard. He's made his point and scared everyone to be sure of that."

"You can't be sure of that."

"I can't be sure of anything. I just have to cross my fingers and hope I guess right." He added grimly, "One good thing. I doubt if Dekim is going to risk coming to Collinsville and try to cut your throat." The plane bounced as the tires hit the runway. "That might be too bold a move even for him."

"I wouldn't bet on that either," Wufei said. "He may be clever, but some of his tactics are bizarre."

"Then we'll have to keep him safe, won't we?" Heero unbuckled his seat belt and stood up. He glanced out the window. "There they are. Enough cameras to look like Hollywood on Oscar night."

"I'm going to _hate_ this." I said.

"Now you'll see what it's like on the other side of the camera," Heero said. "Come on. Let's get this show on the road."

*************** - (it was easier to write this next little section in 3rd person/Heeroish p.o.v)

**Collinsville, Illinois**

**1:40 p.m.**

The reporters flew toward Duo as he came down the airplane stairs.

Heero hung back watching.

Duo might detest being in the spotlight, but he was smiling and answering questions with quiet confidence. Heero hadn't expected anything else. When it came to a pinch, Duo had shown he could handle almost anything.

"You son of a bitch."

Heero turned at the low hiss behind him and saw Relena. "I didn't expect you here this soon, Relena."

"I was already on my way when I got the call from the CDC that you'd pulled this stunt," Relena muttered through gritted teeth. "I'm going to get you for this, Heero."

"I told you I wouldn't let you do it to him."

"I should have ignored you from the beginning. Before you let this mess happen."

"Oh, so Collinsville is my fault? You weren't involved at all?" Finger pointing was exactly the reaction he had expected from Relena. "It won't wash. I'm just a peon. You're the one in the driver's seat." He looked at Duo. "And you'll feel like you've been run over by a truck if you let anything happen to him."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Yes." His gaze shifted back to Relena. "You think you're desperate? You don't know what the word means. I won't lose him and I won't lose Dekim."

"You've already lost Dekim. We're not even close to catching him. He's cutting every tie that would lead anyone to him. Two hours after Treize's helicopter blew up, there was an explosion in a barn outside Waterloo, Iowa.'

Heero stiffened. "The counterfeiting installation?"

"That's what we're betting. We have specialists out there combing through the ashes."

"Isn't that dangerous for them?" Wufei asked. "There's bound to be active anthrax spores in the ink they were using."

"Not if the fire was intense enough," Heero said. "Fire's the great leveler. The CDC uses fire to destroy even Ebola." 

"Oh it was intense enough," Relena said. "It melted practically everything in sight including some men who were working in the building. We're not going to find anything of value."

"What about Trey Catalonia?"

"He called his mother about three hours ago and she hung up on him."

Heero went still. "He called her?"

"He was begging and pleading with her. She hung up before we could get a trace. Since then there's been no sign of him. Dekim probably took care of that loose end too."  
"When's the deadline for the money?"

"Day after tomorrow." She glanced sourly at Wufei. "The president is taking heat from your government. They keep yammering at him not to give into terrorists."

"My government is right," Wufei said. "There's nothing worse than meeting terrorist demands.

"Having Dekim release contaminated money in New York City is worse."

"Is that what he's threatening?" Heero said.

Relena nodded curtly. "Do you know what another incident would do to the stock exchange?"

"I know I wouldn't want to give Dekim the money and have him walk away with any anthrax still in his possession. What's to stop him from using the threat again?"

"Him." Relena nodded at Duo. "And you took him away from me, you bastard."

"Too bad. I guess you'll just have to concentrate on finding Dekim instead of an innocent man."

"Is that the pot calling the kettle black?"

Heero flinched. "Yes, I guess it is." He stepped forward and elbowed his way through the mob of reporters. "That's enough for right now. Mr. Maxwell's very tired, but he'll be glad to talk to you all tomorrow morning. He still has to go to CDC headquarters in town and give blood."

One of the cameras was immediately trained on him. "And who are you?"

"I'm Mr. Maxwell's personal escort. The government recognizes the extreme importance of his contribution." He turned to Relena. "So Deputy Director Darlian assigned me the job of making sure that his path was as smooth as possible. Isn't that right?"

Relena gave him a lethal glance before she forced a smile. "Of course. It's only sensible that we take excellent care of Mr. Maxwell."

"She was just telling me she's already sent a force to John Hopkins to secure the hospital," Heero said blandly. "I'll let her fill you in on the reasons that's necessary while I take Mr. Maxwell to the CDC headquarters."

***************

The majority of the media people had already surrounded Relena, and Heero had to free me from only two of the more persistent reporters.

"This way." Wufei was at our side. "This is Otto from the CDC."

"We've met." Heero nodded at him. "This is Duo Maxwell. Duo, this is Otto. He took over Zechs's position at the CDC."

"I'm glad to meet you Duo." Otto shook my hand. "Though I wish it weren't in these circumstances. Our team's staying at the Ramada Inn in the quarantine zone. It's right next door to the hospital. I made reservations for your party."

"Have any more cases been brought in?" I asked.

"One. He died an hour ago." Otto ushered us toward a car parked beside the terminal building. A Collinsville police car with blinking lights was parked just in front of it. "You heard we used the last sample for a transfer?"

"That's why I'm here." I got into the back seat. "But evidently not soon enough. I hoped-" I shook my head. "It doesn't matter what I hoped. I'm here now. I'll do whatever I can. How close are you to an antidote?"

Otto shrugged. "We're trying to re-create Zechs's records that were destroyed in the explosion, but it takes time." He got into the driver's seat. "Believe me, we've been working around the clock ever since the mutated anthrax came to our attention. This disaster just put more pressure on us. Everyone wants an answer, and we can't give them one."

"Let's get going." Wufei climbed into the passenger seat beside Otto. "Those reporters will be on him again any second." Heero climbed into the rear seat and slammed the door. "Wufei and I will need cars with CDC stickers so we can move around the quarantine area."

"The mayor's given us the use of his staff cars," Otto said. "We'll get you the stickers when we get to the hotel."

He waved at the police car and the policeman started his engine. "But don't go anywhere without a police escort. This town is too volatile."

***************

The boy was smiling and telling them lies.

Dekim sat in his motel room, watching the news reports of Collinsville. He'd been drinking in the devastation that was going to prove so profitable, when they'd cut to the airport and Duo Maxwell.

He was _lying_ to them. The CDC wasn't close to a cure. He had made sure of that with Marquise's death.

But what if people believed him? What if pressure was put on the president to refuse to pay?

He was saying it again.

Fury tore through him. "You lie. Shut up, bitch. Stop _saying_ that."

He had turned loose the Dark Beast and shown them there was no way to save themselves. Yet they still thought that boy could do something to save them. If Dekim was going to win the game, they had to remain frightened and subdued.

He must remove all hope.

***************

Otto's car encountered a National Guard roadblock two miles from the Collinsville airport but was allowed to pass when the soldier saw the CDC sticker on the windshield.

I had grown accustomed to soldiers and guns in third world countries, but they seemed an obscene abnormality in this small American town. Dekim had brought obscenity down on everyone.

"Lock the car doors," Otto said over his shoulder. "The hospital is in the riot area."

"Can't the National Guard do anything about it?" I asked.

"Right now they're busy keeping the town quarantined, and the governor doesn't want to use force. These people are victims already. He's asked everyone to stay off the streets until morning, when more troops arrive."

A few blocks later we entered the riot zone. Stores with broken windows. People carrying television sets and stereo equipment. Small fires everywhere.

"This is where you want me to show my support, Heero?" I murmured.

"I may rethink that part of the plan." He said.

I shook my head. "No, you're right. It's effective showmanship." I went silent, staring out the window. "Stop the car." I suddenly called out to Otto.

"Nani?"

"Stop the damn car." I unlocked the door and hopped out. The police car screeched to a halt ahead of us.

The old woman reaching into the broken jewelry store window.

_Focus._

_Shoot._

"Get back in the car." Heero was beside me. "You're giving Otto a heart attack."

"In a minute." My gaze had been caught by something in the alley across the street. Two slender figures silhouetted against leaping yellow-orange flames. I couldn't tell their age or sex, but they were standing before a rusty oil drum like priests before an altar. "What are they doing?" I murmured. I moved closer.

_Focus._

_Sh-_

My God, they were burning money.

_But when we see them tearing up or burning money, we'll know we're really in trouble._

It seemed a long time since Heero had said those words. It had been impossible to imagine then.

But it was happening. It was all happening.

So take the picture. Tell the story.

_Focus._

_Shoot._

I lowered the camera. "That's enough." I started back toward the car. "Do you suppose it was the counterfeit money?"

"They evidently think it is, but I hope not. They had it in their bare hands." He held the car door open for me. "And you're not going back to try and rescue them. They're likely to toss you in that oil drum too."

"Someone should warn them."

"There have been police cars cruising the streets with loudspeakers," Otto said. "We should get out of here. We're attracting too much attention."

He was nervous, I realized. I supposed I would be too if I hadn't been absorbed by the sheer impact of what I was seeing. I nodded, and Otto gave a sigh of relief and started the car.

Heero locked the doors and leaned back.

"You warned me," I whispered as I stared out the window. "I don't think I really believed you."

"I can't blame you. I wasn't a well of sincerity at the time." He paused. "But I told you the truth when I could."

"When you thought it was convenient to tell me the truth."

"Nothing's been done for convenience since the moment I met you. I know it doesn't make any difference to you, but I promise I'll never tell you anything but the truth from now on."

"It's too late."

"It's _not_ too late. Not if-" He drew a deep breath and shook his head. "I know. It's not the time. Forget I said anything."

I would try to forget. Hell, I had been trying to forget Heero. Yet here he was beside me, manipulating, guarding, supplying my needs.

Heero made it very difficult to forget him.

***************

At the hotel, we stopped by Otto's room first so he could take blood samples from me. Wufei decided to check out the building security, and Heero led me to my room.

He unlocked the door and handed me the key. "Wufei's room is next door and Relena has agents swarming all over. The floor is wall-to-wall CIA. Don't open your door unless you know who's on the other side."

"I know that. I've gone through all this before. I'm practically an expert by now."

"This stay shouldn't be quite as dangerous. No one's even allowed in the city without proper credentials, and you don't have Odin Lowe to deal with any longer. Besides, who in Collinsville would want to kill the nation's savior?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'll see you in the morning, Heero."

"Actually you won't."

I looked back at him.

"I won't be here until tomorrow evening sometime." He paused. "Maybe not then."

I frowned. "Nani?"

"I'm going to Kansas. Trey Catalonia called his mother earlier this evening. She hung up on him, but I think he'll call back."

"Why?"

"He's scared and in over his head and she's all he has."

"Then Relena can trace the call and get him."

"I don't want Relena to get Catalonia. If Relena picks him up, it will be all over the newspapers. I want Dekim to think Catalonia is still free."

"And what will you do if you get him?"

"I'll play it by ear. I have a few ideas, but it depends on how much he knows and how cooperative I can get him to be." His lips curved sardonically. "I'm very good at using people remember?"

"I remember." I opened the door. "Call me. I want to know what's happening. If there's a chance of trapping Dekim, I don't want to be closed out."

"I'm not closing you out. I'll take you with me if you like."

"You know I can't leave. Otto's team might need me."

He nodded. "Remember when I asked you what you'd do if you had to make a choice between Iris and getting Dekim?"  
"This is a different situation," I said without hesitation. "If it was Dekim instead of Catalonia, then I'd come with you." I turned and went into my room. "Good night, Heero."

I leaned back wearily against the door. Heero, as usual, was relentlessly focused on his objective, but life had gone off-kilter for me. I couldn't walk away from Collinsville, not if staying there might keep someone alive. The helplessness I had felt at Tenajo was still too fresh in my memory. I'd do what I could here. Take one step at a time.


	20. Chapter 19

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…

****This is it minna! (No, its not the LAST chapter… but almost) Here's where basically everything is tied together and the mystery is solved for the most part.Get ready minna, yet more unexpected turns are coming! And I must say I'm flattered and impressed by all you who have stuck with me this far. *feels all special* Chapter 19

**Day Four**

**Aurora, Kansas**

**2:47 a.m.**

The small yard at the Catalonia house was overflowing with reporters and TV cameras. A satellite truck was parked across the street. Heero parked two blocks down and walked quickly to the front door.

He elbowed through the crowd of reporters and rang the doorbell.

"Better watch it," one of the photographers warned. "She called the cops when I rang the bell this afternoon and they almost ran me off."

He couldn't blame her. This media circus was overpowering. He rang the bell again.

No answer.

What the hell. He put his shoulder to the door and rammed it with all his strength.

"Shit. Are you crazy?" The startled photographer shot a picture of him as he broke through the door. "You're going to get us all thrown off the property. She'll scream bloody-"

Heero missed the last two words as he entered and slammed the door shut behind him. The hall was dark but he could see a light streaming from one of the rooms at the top of the stairs.

He didn't have long to wait. A door was flung open and Dorothy Catalonia marched to the head of the stairs. She was dressed in a nightgown and robe and she was pointing a pistol at him.

"Gomen. I'll pay to repair the door." Heero said.

"Get out of my house."

"I need to see you."

"You're trespassing. I'd be within my rights to blow a hole in you."

"That's true. But do you think you need the hassle? You're probably having enough trouble."

"Who are you? A reporter? Police?

"CIA. Could I come up and talk to you?"

"I've had someone from your department in the government talk to me." She turned on the hall light and her gaze narrowed on him. "You were here before. Gardiner."

"Heero Yuy. A small untruth."

"You were looking for Trey." She was coming down the stairs. "It hadn't even happened yet and you were looking for Trey."

"I suspected he was involved."

"Then why the hell didn't you find him? Why did you let him do it? My friends are going to think I've raised some kind of monster. Why didn't you stop him?"

"I tried." He looked at the gun. "Will you put that down? I'm trying to make things easier for you."

"You're trying to catch Trey, like everyone else."

"I want the man who hired him, and I want you to persuade him to help me. But there are people out there who only want a scapegoat. They'll take your son." He paused. "And they'll take you with him."

She was silent a moment. "What do you want from me?"

"When he calls, talk to him but make it very short. We don't want the call traced. If he tries to set up a meeting, do it. And make sure he knows the line is bugged so he won't give himself away."

"He may not call again."

He sat down by the small telephone table in the hall. "We both have to hope that he does."

***************

The phone rang a few hours later. Heero picked up the hall extension at the same time Dorothy answered the kitchen phone.

"Mama, don't hang up."

"I can't talk to you," Dorothy said. "Are you crazy? I told you the last time not to call me. After what you've done, do you think they haven't tapped my phone? I'll be lucky if they don't arrest me. You've ruined my life, you baka."

"I didn't mean to do it, Mama. It was counterfeit, but I thought that was all. I need your help. You're all I've got. Can you meet me at the place where I had my ninth birthday party?"

"No, I can't be involved in this."

"Please, Mama."

She was silent."

"I'll be waiting for you. I know you'll come." He hung up.

Heero was surprised to see tears in Dorothy's eyes as she came out into the hall. "Damn him. He's so stupid. They'll put him away in prison and then they'll kill him."

Heero wanted to lie to her, but he didn't. "Feelings are running pretty high right now."

"I love him, you know." She wiped her eyes and straightened her shoulders. "But I'm not going to let him take me with him." She gazed at Heero defiantly. "You think I'm terrible, don't you?"

"I'm not judging you."

"It doesn't matter what you think. I always did my best for him." She went toward her bedroom. "I've got to do my face and put on some clothes," she said. "When we'll get out of here. How do you intend to get me through that mob?"

"Same way I came in."

"They'll follow us. So will the police."

"I'll lose them. It may take a couple of hours, but I'll lose them."

***************

"Pizza hut?" Heero said.

Dorothy shrugged. "Most kids like pizza."

Heero pulled into the parking lot and shut off the engine. It was just before eleven in the morning and the restaurant was closed. Three other cars were in the parking lot.

"He's probably watching us from a distance," Heero said. "Let's get out of the car I want both of us to be fully visible. He'd get spooked if he drove up and saw me in the car. He might take off again."

Ten minutes passed.

"He's not coming." She said.

"Give him chance. He'll-"

A black car barreled down the street, pulled into the parking lot, and screeched to a stop. The window rolled down.

"Who is he?" Trey asked. "Why didn't you come alone, Mama?"

"Because I can't help you by myself. You've gone too far this time."

"Who is he?"

"Heero." She paused. "He's government."

Trey started to roll up the window.

"Don't you do that, Trey Catalonia." She glared at him. "Do you hear me? You don't run away from this. I'm not going to have them chase you down and shoot you."

"He set me up Mama. I didn't know anyone was going to die. They'll think I'm just like him."

"Then turn the bastard in, make a deal."

"I'm scared, Mama." He whispered, his eyes glittering with tears. "I've never been this scared. I don't know what to do."  
"I told you what to do." He stepped aside and gestured at Heero. "You do what he tells you to do and you may come out of this alive."

"I don't want-" He met her gaze and then slumped in the seat. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"

_Yes._ Heero tried to mask his eagerness as he stepped forward. "First, information. I want to know everything you did from the moment Dekim picked you up in Cheyenne."

***************

**11:54 a.m.**

"Are you still here?" Wufei hurried into the hospital room. "Haven't they fed you any lunch yet, Duo?"

I rolled down my sleeve. "I'm sure ready to eat now. All they've been giving me is orange juice. I bet all the soldiers who've been guarding me have had breakfast and lunch already."

"I'll see if I can get you something. I promised Heero I'd take care of you."

"You've done that. I've been completely surrounded." I smiled. "You two seem to think you're the only ones who can ward off the demons."

"Well, we're damn good at it." He helped me to my feet. "How's the old man who came in this morning?"

"He's got a chance. Otto gave give a culture from one of the samples from last night. But it takes a while to prepare the culture, and Otto needs some in reserve."

"Maybe I'd better keep an eye on him. These eager beaver doctors may prove a bigger threat than Dekim. You've only got so much blood."

"If you really want to protect my well-being, you can take me down to the cafeteria. I'm starved to death."

"No problem." He hesitated. "Well, maybe two little ones. One, I'll have to bring your lunch to you up here. It's not safe for you to go down to a public cafeteria. Two, there's a roomful of reporters outside with Otto. They heard about the old man and they're going to pounce."

"I'm surprised you're letting them near me. Everything else is a security problem."

"They've all been searched." He raised a brow. "Want me to try to get rid of them?"

I shook my head. This was just another part of the package I'd bought into to protect Iris. "I'll talk with them. But rescue me after fifteen minutes, okay?"

Wufei chuckled.

"Did you see the newspaper this morning? They practically had me wearing a halo. I almost threw up."

"You'll survive. If you don't take any chances."

"I don't have a death wish. If I died, Dekim would win everything he's murdered to get. That's not going to happen. Have you heard from Heero?"

"Not yet. But he promised to keep me posted. He's not going to leave us in the dark, Duo."

"Do you always believe what he says?"

Wufei nodded. "And you should too."

I shook my head. "You believe in Heero. I believe in Iris and you and most particularly, good old burger and fries." I started for the door. "So let's get those interviews over so you can bring me my lunch."

***************

I had finished the interviews and just returned to the hospital room when Wufei's portable phone rang.

"Heero." He informed me, then mouthed, "I told you so." His smile slowly disappeared as he listened. "I don't think that's a good idea. Dammit, you told me to protect him and now you want me to do this? There's no way I'm going to bring-" He punched the disconnect button. "The bastard hung up."

"What's happening?"

"He's found out where Dekim's counterfeit is stashed. It's on some farm near the Iowa border. He's heading there now."

Excitement soared through me. "Dekim…"

"Don't even think about it. I'm not taking you there."

_Quatre._

"Let Heero take care of him. Stay here, where you can do some good."

_Show them the monsters._

Otto already had extra samples to use in case anyone was brought into the hospital. This was my chance to do what I'd always intended to do.

I could kill the monster.

"I'm going."

Wufei shook his head.

"Don't tell me no. I'm going. Take me there, Wufei."

"Hell, no." He held out his phone. "Call Heero back and tell him to take you."

I shook my head. "He's there, you're here. Take me."

"And how am I going to do that? You're the most visible man in America right now."

"You managed to get me out of my apartment."

"That was different. It wasn't a quarantine zone. And there's no way I can get you a plane."  
"Then find a car for me. Please, Wufei."

"It's a mistake."

"No, it's not. I have to do this."

He was silent a moment before he sighed resignedly. "Dammit I guess you do."

***************

**Springfield, Missouri**

**2:37 p.m.**

Something had gone wrong. Catalonia should have been here an hour and a half ago.

Dekim's hands tightened on the steering wheel. With the nationwide media coverage, he would have known if Catalonia had been picked up by the police. And that hadn't happened.

If he Catalonia had opened one of the packets, he might be lying dead at the side of the road.

Or he might have found out what was in those packets and panicked. He might be on the run, which was not good. He wasn't bright enough to avoid the search long.

Whatever the reason for the delay, the situation was not irreparable. There was a possibility he might not be able to neatly eliminate Catalonia as he'd planned, but the man knew very little.

That Catalonia had been the one who'd hidden the cache of doctored currency at the mill was also a simple matter to solve. Remove the currency, and Catalonia was no longer any threat.

Yes, everything would still fall into place as he'd planned. All he had to do was maintain control of himself and he could control everything else.

***************

**Near the Iowa border**

**3:48 p.m.**

A breeze was blowing and the windmill's blades whirled lazily. "There it is." Trey Catalonia said. "That's where I unloaded the money. I'm not going any closer. You can't make me, Heero."

"You don't have to go." Heero got out of the car. "Drive to the bridge that's two miles down the road, park out of sight, and wait for me."

"What if you don't come back? What if someone sees me? You promised Mama I'd be safe."

"Just wait for me." The muscles in his stomach were tense as he stared at the windmill. All those years of searching and it all led here.

No cars in sight. That could be bad or good. Either Dekim had already picked up the currency, or he'd not gotten here yet, giving Heero the opportunity to set a trap.

Dammit, he wished he'd had the time to make the one o'clock meeting Dekim had set up with Catalonia. But it might still be all right. If Dekim had gone to the meeting place hundreds of miles away in Springfield, he shouldn't have had time to get here yet.

If. Maybe. When had Dekim ever done the expected?

He could have skipped the meeting, parked in that patch of woods to the south, and walked to the mill. He could be waiting there for word about the payment.

Or the damn place could be booby-trapped like that installation in Waterloo.

It didn't matter. He couldn't stop now. Dekim was too close.

He started toward the windmill.

************

**7:33 p.m.**

A windmill, I thought. A pretty windmill gleaming in the moonlight. Death was in that windmill, neatly packaged death. I had always liked windmills. I must have taken thousands of pictures of the ones in Holland.

"There aren't any cars around. I don't think Heero's here yet, so let me go in first." Wufei hesitated. "You won't change your mind?"

I shook my head. It wasn't Heero's presence he wanted to check out, but Dekim's. "Be careful."

He smiled. "Always." I watched him disappear into the shadows. A moment later he came out and gestured to me.

I ran toward him. "Heero?"

"Not yet." He held the door open for me and I went into the darkness. "But the currency is here. That means we'll have a way to draw Dekim. I'll light the lantern."

It was pitch dark. I couldn't see anything. How had he been able to see the currency?

"I'll do it." Dekim said.

I went rigid.

Dekim lit the lantern across the room. He held a gun in his hand. "Right on time, Wufei. I just arrived myself."

"It wasn't a simple matter getting him out of Collinsville," Wufei said. "I was lucky I could do it at all. I think you owe me a bonus."

I stared at him in shock.

"I'm sorry Duo." Wufei said gently. "The deal was just too generous to pass up."

"You're part of this?" I whispered. "You've been working with him all the time?"

"No, I just seized the opportunity when it presented itself."

"He came to me and offered me a way to leave Mexico quickly and unobtrusively," Dekim said. "And any service that I needed in exchange for a small percentage of the ransom."

"Two million dollars may seem small to you but it's not small to me. I grew up on nothing."

I felt sick. Anyone but Wufei. Wufei wasn't one of the monsters. "What… services?"

"Why, you, of course." Dekim said.

Murder. He was talking about murder. "Wufei saved my life."

"Oh, he insisted that he couldn't compromise his association with the Chinese government. He wants to walk away from this clean. So it couldn't happen when he was suppose to be guarding you."

Wufei waved his hand dismissively. "None of that matters. I've burned my bridges by bringing him to you. As I said, I think I deserve a bonus."

I still couldn't believe it. Wufei's betrayal stunned me. "Heero never called you and told you to come here, did he?"

Wufei shook his head.

Dear God, he'd played me so cleverly. He'd known all he had to do was dangle Dekim in front of me and I would do everything under the sun to get him. "You even told me to call Heero back. What would you have done if I'd done it?"

"I'd offer to call him for you and he would have been conveniently range." He met my gaze. "I regret having to do this, Duo. But you were making Dekim very nervous."

"I wasn't nervous. He's only a boy. I always knew that I'd find a way to rid myself of him." Dekim's grasp tightened on the gun in his hand. "And now that you've brought him here, I'm going to have the joy of disposing of him. And, believe me, it will give me the greatest pleasure."

"Don't you want me to do it?" Wufei asked.

"You're worried about your bonus? No, he's mine. Don't interfere." He pointed the gun at me. I've dreamed about this moment. Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?"

He was going to kill me.

Terror tore through me. I didn't want to die. There were so many things I still wanted to do.

Dammit, I would _not_ die. There had to be a way. Think. Find a way to stall him.

"I'm glad I caused you trouble," I said. "It's going to go on. Even if you kill me, it will go on. They'll never pay you. I've given them enough blood to find an antidote. They'll find it. Tomorrow. Maybe today."

He glared at me. "It's not true."

"It's true." I walked toward him. "They'll never pay you. Why should they? You release this stuff in New York and its only going to be an inconvenience. No one's going to die." I was a few feet from him. "Except you. They'll kill you. They'll tear you apart for what you did at Collinsville." I thought of something else. "And then the rats will eat you. They'll tear at your flesh and go for your eyes. They'll devour you like a-"

"No." His voice rose shrilly. "Liar. Bitch. It won't-"

I lunged for the gun.

He swung the barrel at my head.

Pain.

Falling…

Through a dark haze I could see Dekim level the gun at me.

"_Dekim."_

Heero!

Darting out of the shadows behind Dekim, diving between us, bringing him down.

The gun blast was muffled by Heero's body. He went limp even as the gun skidded across the floor.

Agony ripped inside me. "No…"

I frantically pulled him off Dekim.

Blood. Blood everywhere. His chest… Heero didn't move.

Dekim was scrambling across the floor, trying to reach the gun.

I got there before him. My hand closed around it and I rolled over and pointed it at him.

"Stop him." Dekim was looking beyond me at Wufei. "Kill him."

I stiffened.

"But you wanted to do it yourself," Wufei said. "I really don't think I should interfere."

"_Kill_ him."

"Do you really want to do this, Duo?" Wufei asked.

Heero. Quatre. L2. Nakoa. Tenajo. Collinsville.

"I can see you do," Wufei said. "Then I suggest you shoot the son of a bitch."

I pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore through Dekim's forehead.

I shot him again.

"That's enough," Wufei said. "Once would have been enough."

I whirled and pointed the gun at him.

He held up his hands. "I'm no threat to you, Duo."

"The hell you're not."

"You can waste your time trying to decide whether to kill me or to see if we can save Heero. I think he's still alive."

My gaze flew to Heero. _Alive?_ There had been so much blood...

Wufei knelt down beside Heero, his fingers on Heero's throat. He nodded. "Alive."

"Stay away from him."

"I do have a gun, Duo. You might consider the possibility that I could have killed you at anytime."  
"Dekim told you not to interfere."

"Have you found me that meek?" He tore a strip from Heero's shirt and made a pad. "Now, come and help me. I don't like this bleeding."

I hurried across the room, kneeling, gathering Heero close.

"You apply pressure while I call 911." Wufei said.

My hands were already on his chest above the wound. "Call them. Quick."

Dekim was dead and Heero was alive. I had been given a miracle and I wouldn't let it be stolen from me. I would not let Heero die.

***************

The paramedics carefully placed Heero in the ambulance and I jumped in and sat down beside him.

I glanced at Wufei, who stood outside. "Are you coming?"

He shook his head. "The medics have called the police. I have something to do before they get here. I'll see you at the hospital."

Would he? Or would he take this opportunity to escape? Wufei's actions had completely bewildered me. There was no doubt he'd been in conspiracy with Dekim. Yet he had held his hand when he could have killed me, and he'd worked beside me to save Heero.

The medics slammed the door and a moment later the ambulance was speeding down the road toward the highway.

Heero was still unconscious and he was too pale. I wiped my eyes and grabbed his hand.

"Don't you die on me," I whispered. "You hold on. Don't you dare die, Heero."

I felt the ambulance vibrate before I heard the explosion.

My gaze flew to the back window.

The windmill was splintering like a toy as flames gulfed it and clawed at the sky.


	21. Chapter 20

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…

****This is it minna! (Yes, this is the LAST chapter *sniffle sniffle*) I noticed that it was shorter than normal *raises a brow* But hopefully it'll do. ^__^; Chapter 20

** **

Heero woke as they were wheeling him into the emergency room. "Dekim?" he whispered.

"Dead." My hand tightened on his. "Don't talk."

"Are— you— all right?"

I nodded jerkily. "Fine assassin you are. Why couldn't you shoot him or something? Did you have to jump between us?"

"He had his finger on the trigger. I was afraid— reflex action."

"So you let the son of a bitch shoot you."

"Not— my plan. Everything went wrong. I was waiting for Dekim. No time. He got there just before— you."

"I told you not to talk. Do you want to die, baka?"

"No." His eyes closed. "No, I want to live."

***************

"How is he?"

I looked up to see Wufei standing in the entrance to the waiting room. "Another hospital," I said wearily. "We've got to stop meeting like this."

"How is he?"

"He's in X ray right now. They think the bullet missed vital organs, but he's lost some blood."  
"He'll survive. Heero's tough."

"Hai. But he's thickheaded baka. He had a gun and didn't use it. He let himself get shot. Did he expect me to be grateful?"

"He probably didn't think at all. Are you grateful?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything."

"Except that you're glad Heero isn't dead."

I was glad about that. Everything else was a blur. I leaned my head against the wall behind me. "You blew up the windmill."

"And the money and Dekim with it."

"Why?"

"It was the only way I could be sure that the currency was destroyed. I didn't want it confiscated and put in some security warehouse someplace. Your government is very fond of storing things for a rainy day."

I glared at him. "You worked with Dekim, you bastard."

He nodded. "My prime objective was always to get Trieze. He was the one who was going to demand the release of prisoners. I had to work with Dekim to make sure Trieze was erased from the picture." He smiled slightly. "It was my extreme pleasure to supply him with the bomb he used on Trieze's helicopter and the one he gave Catalonia to blow up the counterfeit installation."

"You could have stopped Catalonia from picking up the money."

He shook his head. "I didn't know the details. Dekim just used me as he used everyone else."

"But if it had come down to a choice between ridding yourself of Trieze or stopping Collinsville from happening, what would you have picked?"  
Wufei was silent.

"You still would have chosen Trieze." I whispered.

"My country can't afford to have people like Trieze alive. We live with the threat of terrorists every moment of everyday. My wife died because of men like Trieze." His gaze was cold as he met my eyes. "Yes, I would have sacrificed a hundred Collinsville if it meant keeping those prisoners from being turned loose."

Heero had once said Wufei was more accepting than he was. It wasn't true. The man before me was totally relentless.

He smiled. "You're shocked. Remember I told you that we all have our priorities? Dekim just wasn't as high on my list as he was on yours. You might ask yourself what you would have sacrificed to get Dekim."

"I don't think I would have sacrificed you, Wufei."

His smile faded. "I hoped I wouldn't get you killed, but I had to destroy the currency. The only way I could find it was to tell Dekim to use it was a ploy to draw you into the trap." He grimaced. "If Heero had called and let me know what he had learned from Catalonia, that wouldn't have been necessary. By the way, the local police picked up Catalonia near the windmill an hour ago. He was screaming to high heaven about a deal he made with Heero."

I didn't care about Catalonia. "You just stood there. You were going to let Dekim shoot me."

"Was I?" He shook his head. "I was only waiting for my chance to be a hero. You and Heero didn't give it to me."

"You're not a hero."

"No, I'm only a man with priorities." He turned to go. "I'm leaving tomorrow night. I'll stop by in the morning to see Heero."

"Do you think he'll want to see you?"

He nodded. "He might be angry that I used you, but Heero understands priorities."

"Bullshit."

"Oh, he does. No one wanted Dekim more than Heero did, but he didn't take the sure kill last night. I think he understands priorities very well."

***************

Heero was sitting up in bed when I came in the next afternoon. "Are you supposed to be up?"

"I'm fine." He scowled. "But they won't let me out of here."

"It serves you right for getting shot." He didn't look well, but he looked better. His chest and shoulder were bandaged, and his color was almost normal. "Was Wufei here?"

He nodded.

"He said you'd understand."

"I do."

"Well, I don't. I feel... betrayed. I thought he was my friend."

"He _was_ your friend." 

"Friends don't make you bait in their little traps."

He was silent.

"I don't care about priorities. It's not right. He shouldn't have done it." My hands clenched into fists. "And I still like the bastard. That's not right either."

"What do you want me to do? Explain him? Make excuses for him?" He shook his head. "I can't do that. I won't do that. Any more than I would for myself. We both used you and betrayed you. No amount of regret will change that fact. You have to either forgive us or try to kick us out of your life."

"Try?"

"You might succeed with Wufei. You won't with me." He said harshly. "I need you. Do you know how _hard_ that is for me to say? I won't let you go. I don't care if you think I'm a bastard. If you try to get away from me, I'll follow you. God knows I'm good at the hunt. I won't bother you but you'll know I'm there."

I shook my head.

"Don't shake you head. It's going to happen."

"Maybe it will. But not because you bully me."

"I'm not bullying you. I'm just telling you how it is." He paused. "Is it Quatre? Do you still blame me for Quatre?"

"No, no any longer. You didn't know he was going to Tenajo. I don't even blame you for sending me there. It was wrong, but I can understand. Those damn priorities again. You and Wufei are obsessed with them."

"No more than I'm obsessed with you."

"I don't want to be any one's obsession. I have enough obsessions of my own." And Heero could very well become one of them. He had dominated my life from the moment he had entered it.

"Do you think I'm talking about some sick fixation? We're good together."

"You mean sexually."

"Hell, yes, but _more_ than that. And you know it." He hesitated. "I... care about you. I don't want you to walk out of my life. I want to stay with you."

And I wanted to stay with him. The knowledge came suddenly and surely. I wanted Heero more than anything else I had ever wanted in my life. But I couldn't have him. Not yet. Maybe never. "And do you want to talk to me about Nakoa?"

He stiffened. "What do you mean? I've told you about Nakoa."

"You haven't told me about your parents, your sister... You haven't told me about Midorikawa Hikaru. And don't tell me you're not that man anymore. Everyone's born with a soul, but it's experiences that make us what we are. I know Heero Yuy. I don't know Midorikawa Hikaru. I deserve to know both. I won't settle for anything less."

He was silent a moment. "I'll tell you."

"But you don't want to talk. For God's sake, do you think I want to force confidences out of you? I just want you to be able to let the past go. If you can come to me and say that you've done that, then maybe we'd have some hope of-" I stood up. "This isn't getting us anywhere. It's all too soon. Right now, I don't know how I feel. I'm sad and angry and grateful, but I-"

"I don't want your gratitude. I want you to— But I'll take the gratitude if you go along with it."

"It's too soon." I moved toward the door. "I can't deal with it. I can't deal with you, Heero."

"You're not going to learn by running away."

"I'm not running away. I have things to do. I'm going back to Collinsville and work with the CDC and make sure they have a cure in case this damn mutant anthrax surfaces somewhere else. I have to go to the hospital and check on Iris. Then I'm going to Canada to the ranger station where Trowa and Catherine left their car and wait for them to come out of the woods. It should be any day now." I had to steady my voice. "I have to be there to tell them about Quatre. I'm not running. I have a life, Heero."

"I don't. Not yet. But I'm trying. Just give me a little time and I'll get there." He said roughly. "Go on, get out of here. But you can be sure I'll see you later."

I walked out.

I loved him and I was walking out on him. At the moment when he was so alone. What would a man do when the obsession that had driven him for years vanished? I wanted to go back and tell him—

No, it was too soon for both of us. There was too much pain and regret to overcome in one day. Maybe later.

If there was a later.

*****

*raises a brow again* There you go minna. *thinks* Weeeeeeell, maybe this needs an Epilogue instead of ending here, neeeeeeeeeeee? *smirks*


	22. Epilogue

-- I am going to note really fast that I have no clue if Noin really has a sister…

*chuckles evilly* I was going to write an epilogue anyway… thought I'd tease you guys. lol *tries to look innocent* This probably isn't much of an "official" ending, but it's the best I can do after having to spend over 5 hours (at least) in the rain. -___-;;; darn Friday night football games. *sigh*  Epilogue

_Focus._

_Shoot._

"Please no more, Duo." Catherine said. "I have to go with Trowa to the grocery store."

Catherine hated shopping, I thought. The only thing she hated more was having her picture taken. I wouldn't have made her do it, but I wanted a picture to give to Trowa for his birthday. "One more."

Catherine's red curly hair was shining in the sunlight as she swayed back and forth in the rope swing. The composition was almost perfect.

"And Iris is getting really tired." Catherine turned to the tiny girl in the sandbox. "Aren't you, Iris?"

Iris nodded. "Tired. Real Tired."

Catherine smiled. "See?"

Iris adored Catherine and would have said the moon was orange if Catherine prompted her so. "One more." I repeated.

"Hello," Catherine said to someone behind me. "Are you looking for Trowa? He's at the house."

"No, I'm not looking for Trowa."

I froze. Then I turned around.

He was dressed in a dark blue suit and looked elegant and civilized. Hell, he looked gorgeous. "Hello, Heero."

"Can I go now?" Catherine asked.

I nodded. "But first you have to be introduced to Heero Yuy. This is Catherine."

Heero nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I've heard a great deal about you."

"Have you?" Catherine smiled. "Are you a friend of Duo's?"

Heero looked at me. "Am I?"

I smiled. "Hai."

"Nice to meet you." Catherine said.

Heero's gaze went to the sandbox. "Iris?" He crossed to the sandbox and knelt beside the little girl. "I don't suppose you remember me."

Iris smiled and handed him a red plastic bucket.

"Thank you." He reached out and touched the tiny gold earrings in her left ear. "I remember these earrings. Pretty."

Iris nodded and then reached out and touched his cheek. "Pretty."

He blinked, astonished.

She giggled in delight at the response and touched his other cheek. "Pretty."

"Now be sure to take Iris and get the sand off."

"I know, Duo." Catherine was already in the sandbox pulling Iris to her feet. "Come on, Iris. We'll go turn on the sprinklers and get clean, okay?"

"Sprinklers," Iris repeated, he face lighting up. "Hose. Umbrella."

"No, not this time," Catherine said as she started across the lawn, slowing her steps to accommodate Iris's tottering steps. "Not the umbrella but maybe the hose."

"It's been over a year." Heero said. "I didn't expect to see you still here. Children's photos are hardly your cup of tea."

"It didn't hurt for me to put my career on hold for a while. Catherine and Trowa needed me. I guess I needed them too."

"How's Iris really doing?"

"Terrific. She's still in rehab, but you can see how normal she's looking. The Mexican authorities found out her grandparents are dead and there aren't any relatives willing to be responsible for her." I smiled as my gaze followed Catherine and Iris. "So she's mine, Heero. I'm adopting her."

"That's great Duo."

"It's more than great, it's a new world for me. What are you doing now?"

"I've been very boring lately. I haven't killed anyone in nearly two days."

"Heero."

He raised a brow. "Gomen. Actually, I'm heading a research project on a new virus discovered in the Amazon rain forest."

"More germs."

He shrugged. "What can I say it's my specialty." His gaze fixed intently on my face. "I thought… we might go out to dinner."

"Why don't you stay and eat with us? You can meet Trowa."

He shook his head. "I want to be alone with you. I want to talk."

Heero? Talk? Boy, he sure loosened up a bit. "You do? What about?"

"Shoes and ships and sealing wax." He paused. "Dammit what do you think I want to talk about? Why do you think I'm here?"

"Tell me."

"Do you _know_ how much I've missed you? Gods, you look great."

"I feel well." What an understatement. At that moment I felt as if I could soar like a balloon. "How are you?"

"Good." Then he said harshly, "No, I'm not. I'm surly and mean and impatient as hell."

"So what's new? You always were."

"You told Catherine a lie. I'm not your friend."

"Oh, you will be." I smiled luminously. "There's no way I'll have a lover who's not my friend, Heero."

He stiffened.

"I've been impatient as hell too." I said unsteadily.

"Duo." He was coming toward me and the expression on his face…

Oh, God, I needed to remember it forever

_Focus._

_Shoot._

_ _

**~*~*~OWARI~*~*~******


End file.
